The Lone Wolf That Howled
by DirgeOfAlshua
Summary: Family slaughtered, clan destroyed and now on the run for her life, she-wolf youkai, Daiyu, finds herself in Japan in the hopes of finding someone from her past. Someone whom she doesn't even remember or the promise that she is bound to for all eternity.
1. Runaway Wolf

Daiyu

"Black Jade"

She had always the same dream for what felt like the majority of her life, which, for a wolf demon, wasn't for very long, but definitely spanned longer than a human lifespan. She saw herself as a cub, hardly reaching the knees of most around her. She was wearing the most elaborate hanfu dress, a soft purple with a little golden bell strapped to her sash which jingled whenever she would run. She sensed that the dress was for a most important occasion, a crucial turning point that would mark her for the rest of her life, but was too young to comprehend it. She was playing in the garden as a white silhouette stood close by, but she could not see this person's face. Her child-self had taken to climbing a weeping cherry tree and the mysterious white figure came closer, coming to stand below the branch that she balanced onto. A large butterfly came to her sight and she embarked to capture it as she reached with her small hand towards it, but just as she grew near to it, the butterfly had escaped and she lost her balance with a last attempt to grasp it; slipping off the branch and fell off the tree. Before she could release a shout of alarm, she fell into something soft and her mind registered that she had dropped into a bed of fur. Her silver eyes opened from beneath ebony hair and gazed right at the person's face.

Typically, the dream would never grant her the visage of the person or a voice and she could never pinpoint who it might be since all of the wolves of her clan had black hair and wore dark clothing, very much opposing the character in her dream. However, something changed.

This time, as her eyes met into the white figure, what stared back at her were eyes of gold and his mouth moved as a deep baritone came forth, a male voice.

"Daiyu."

Daiyu snapped upwards, jolting herself from sleep as she panted heavily from the shock, appearing as if she had awoken from a nightmare. She took a large breath and exhaled slowly, slowing down her racing heart before studying her surroundings. She was in the middle of a dense, dark forest in the mountains. The fancy clothing she wore in her dream nothing like the torn and dirtied dress she wore now. The tattered dull blue silk hardly befitting for a princess of the black wolves of the north, but that kind of life had died the moment her family and clan were slaughtered.

She was the only one left.

The lone survivor.

The lone wolf.

A tiger youkai, the powerful Tingfeng, had managed to gather all of the cat families in the North to wage war against the wolves and foxes over the territory. Her families, being the strongest of all of the clans were the first to be attacked and the last to fall. Her father had died in battle while her mother died after forcing her to escape with her father's sword. Her mother's last words kept ringing in her head and somehow she knew it had to do with the white figure in her dream.

"Go to Japan." Her mother had told her and Daiyu had been on the run ever since, on her way to the far East in search of salvation. Tingfeng had sent his army in pursuit of her and the journey had become increasingly strenuous as the days wore on. With each kill she had made, the stronger the soldiers that Tingfeng would throw at her and she wondered how much longer she could endure. She wished she could just fly over to her destination; however, the form that she would need to take in order to do so would attract all of her enemies, making her into a flying target ready to be shot. She surmised that taking to flight would be her final option. When she truly had no other choice.

Voices sprung to her ear and she immediately found a hiding spot underneath a tree, burrowing herself in a hole between the large roots that seemed to slither up from the ground. Not long after, she sensed two tiger youkai coming into the area.

"Perhaps she has gone down the mountain." she heard a tiger inquire, "Besides; I'm done chasing some little she-cub all over the place."

The first tiger demon was drawing near to her hiding spot, not knowing that she was tucked just beneath, her silver eyes peaking through the darkness as she clenched tightly onto her father's broadsword. The Tiger demon's feet got within view and she knew that this was her chance.

"She's no longer a cub." the unsuspecting tiger proclaimed.

"You're damn right!" She snarled, whipping out from her cover before impaling the tiger demon. His partner burst in behind her and she used the tiger still hanging from her blade as a shield, killing him instantly as an explosion struck around her.

The tiger demon's sword swirled with energy and steam as he looked through the smoke and debris. When the dust dispersed, he found his partner's obliterated corpse but no trace of the she-wolf demon.

"Fuck!" He hissed, "Tingfeng's going to be pissed!"

Daiyu darted between the trees, her long raven hair trailing behind her like a tail whipping about as she let her instincts take over. Sweat glazed her olive-tone skin, silver eyes vibrant with inhuman light as she scanned the wilderness for enemies. As she was nearing the valley, her eyes caught sight of six silhouettes, their scent hitting her nose and she furrowed her dark brows. She recognized these demons. They were not tigers, but a group of mountain lions.

The she-wolf leapt into the air, then pounced onto a female, stabbing quickly and severing its head. The lions were quick to retaliate and attacked, sending flying crimson blades from their claws and the she-wolf dodged, causing the blades to miss their original target and slicing into the nearest demon.

"I'll kill you, you fucking bitch!" One of the lion demons roared as the she-wolf smirked, her pearly white fangs gleaming.

"You've been saying that for the last fifty years, pussy." The she-wolf chuckled from her crouched position. Another series of blades launched at her, but she deflected it easily with a whack of her sword where it then imbedded into the same lion demon whom seems to be a constant victim of friendly fire, much to the wolf's amusement.

"You should give up, wolf."

At the male voice, the she-wolf stiffened. She vaguely wondered when he had arrived; she had failed to sense him.

She looked over her shoulder and hauntingly familiar yellow eyes greeted her.

"Shun!" She snarled loudly as she faced him in a poised position, her face contorted in fury. Shun, a tiger demon and the right hand of Tingfeng, regarded her with a coy expression as he eyed her figure.

"Did you think you could run from Tingfeng forever?" Shun chuckled as he stepped toward her, a hand on the hilt of his sheathed blade.

"Bastard!" She seethed, "I'll never let you have my father's sword."

"I'm amazed you've managed to steal it back, princess, since I was the one who pried it from your father's dead hands."

The she-wolf hissed as she swung her sword in front of her and blue energy sprung forth, demolishing everything in its path, killing the remaining lion demon, but Shun evaded the blast. Shun went for an attack to the she-wolf's side where their blades collided with a spark.

"You haven't even fully mastered it, princess." Shun said through his smiling teeth, "So be a good cub and die!"

The she-wolf grunted with the amount of force Shun put into the attack, her knees buckling and thighs burning from the strain as he pressed down on her with his blade and demonic force. With a shout, Daiyu released her own energy and Shun was launched backward like he had been smacked by a wall. Shun did a flip in the air and threw his blade at her just as she morphed into a ball of light then took off into the night sky.

"She escaped, huh. Did I manage to hit her?" Shun muttered as he walked over to his sword, which was standing upright in the ground. His question was answered with blood splattered across the ground and on his sword. He grabbed the hilt and pulled it from the earth, then brought the blade in front of his face.

"It seems you are stronger than your old man. I'll have more fun with you later." He chuckled before licking her blood from the cold steel of his sword.

* * *

><p>"How are you my son, it has been a while." a female voice, laced with wisdom and prestige, murmured with a sense of coyness between crimson lips.<p>

"I saw you recently, haven't I?" a bemused Sesshoumaru replied with cold regard, even towards his own mother. "Why have you summoned me here?"

Sesshoumaru's mother, the Lady Inukimi, coy expression turned sour and she shifted on her throne to wave towards a youkai servant, whom was holding a tobacco box and pipe on a wooden tray. While the servant prepared the smoking pipe, Inukimi finally addressed her son's question.

"There's been a major disturbance in the land across the sea." She paused in her explanation to receive the pipe and brought it to her lips. "An uprising from a large cluster of tiger demons with the other types of cat youkai as their underlings."

"I have never heard of tiger youkai banding together, are they not solitary creatures?" Sesshoumaru inquired as Inukimi exhaled grey smoke.

"That is true," She agreed, "However, there is no mistaking it and they seemed to have set their focus on the Northern territory."

"The land of the black wolves?"

"Yes," Inukimi said, "Do you remember Lord Shoushan? Though it has been almost a hundred years since then."

Sesshoumaru was silent a moment, his pale brows furrowing and his expression became tense.

"Of course." He finally replied and Inukimi frowned.

"He's been killed," Inukimi said, "Along with the rest of his clan."

Inukimi watched her son's reaction and though his expression had not changed, his aura became dark and morbid. She took a moment to exhale the smoke she had been holding in before continuing.

"Don't let this sadden you, there is but one survivor left." She said, seeing as Sesshoumaru's golden eyes widened a bit. "She's on the run with Shoushan's sword, though I cannot tell you what condition she is in."

"In what direction?"

"She's headed this direction with several youkai pursuing her. She should land somewhere to the west of Hokkaido."

With this, Sesshoumaru turned away from his mother, his silhouette beginning to glow as he prepared himself for a speedy flight.

"I understand your hastiness to find the female, son, but do not let them take the sword." Inukimi ordered and Sesshoumaru gave a quick nod before blasting off.

* * *

><p>The peaceful, snow covered shores of Hokkaido was interrupted as an orb of blue light streaked like a shooting star across the night sky before landing ungracefully onto the snow where it then transformed into a beautiful young woman's form. Blood splattered onto the ground, staining the pure white into a bright crimson as the girl grunted in pain. Her black hair had fallen from its high ponytail and pooled like ink down to her knees, some strands fell across her face and she pulled it away with a tired gesture of her hand.<p>

"Damn it!" She muttered beneath her breath as she looked down at the large gaping wound in her stomach. The sword had completely gone through her while she was trying to morph into an orb. "That bastard, Shun!" she screamed before vomiting blood.

The she-wolf managed to stand up, though her balance shaky as she began walking away from the ocean and towards the hills. Her shoes crunched in the snow as she walked and the sound brought her into a trance as her vision came in and out of focus. Visions of her slaughtered clan members came to her mind and tears streaked down her cheeks. When her father's face finally surfaced she collapsed on her knees and sobbed.

"Father…" She cried, "Why?"

Why did this happen to her clan? Her family?

"Why did this have to happen?"

The only answer in return was the sound of the ocean waves, followed by water smacking against the blackened rocks.

She wiped the tears away with the back of her arm, and then attempted to get up again, but her legs refused to move.

"Finally caught up with you, bitch!" a voice called behind her and she flinched. The wounded wolf turned her head and found a group of leopard demons walking towards her. At least Shun didn't follow her.

"She's pretty fucked up, this should be a cinch." The leopard on the far right exclaimed. "We should have some fun with her to make up for the trouble of coming all the way here."

"You'd do better to kill me quickly." The she-wolf seethed through clenched teeth, her silver eyes glowing brightly in defiance. "I'll bite your dicks off."

The same mischievous leopard bounded, then pounced on her, knocking her forward and he grabbed the hair on the back her head and yanked her head back.

"Then I'll put it somewhere else instead, you little c-!"

The tip of her broadsword had emerged through the leopard's back as blood sprayed over the wounded wolf.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you to let sleeping wolves lie, you perverted piece of shit!" She snarled before knocking him off of her with a hard shove of her elbow. The other leopards bounded towards her and she summoned up the strength to get up onto her feet and face her attackers. She was panting heavily as her left hand clutched at her wound in a futile attempt to staunch the wound. Her knuckles white as she gripped the hilt of her father's sword tightly, blue energy surging from the blade which now waited anxiously to protect its new master.

"She's lost it," One of the leopard demons commented, "look at her eyes!"

The she-wolf's eyes had become alight with vibrant silvery blue, her irises and pupils no longer visible as she stood like the cornered wolf that she was. Ready to bite off her own arm in order escape the trap that she had been ensnared in.

"Are you done stalling?" She snarled with a beastly voice, "Come on! Come and kill me!"

The leopards hissed before leaping towards her, claws and weapons raised, ready for the killing blow when a foreign beam of golden light shot above her, striking the leopards as they yowled loudly in pain before disintegrating. The blast shocked the she-wolf out of her trance-like state and her silver irises turned towards the source of the foreign light.

A sudden sense of déjà vu struck her as a towering Japanese youkai stood before her, encased in white as his golden eyes bore down at her, striking her down to her very core and she trembled.

"You are on the verge of death." He said, his baritone voice shocking her with its familiarity. She felt like she had seen him before.

"W-who…are you?" She managed to say with a shaky breath, her vision was fading from the blood loss and she doubted if she was going to wake up again once she would fall unconscious.

"You do not remember, Daiyu?" He murmured, addressing her name as one whom was close to her. "I am Sesshoumaru No Taisho. We met when you were a young cub a hundred years a go."

A vision of her, much smaller than now, standing before this youkai came to mind. She was looking down into her small, child-like hands at a white peony flower before placing it in his much larger hands. She had stepped towards his crouched figure before kissing the side of his face.

Her face contorted in confusion, aghast with her own self. She knew the significance of such an act.

"What?" She said in attempt to deny the long forgotten memory that had surfaced. She crumbled as her knees hit the snow covered ground. She clutched tightly onto her wound, her chest heaving with her struggled breathing.

His black boots crunched in the snow as he came towards her. It was common knowledge that nearing a mortally wounded wolf was extremely precarious, for they will lash out at anyone, but he showed no signs of caution as he crouched beside her.

"You are Princess Daiyu, there can be no mistake." He said, his hand grasped her chin lightly, yet possessively as he turned her face to his. Before she could tear her face away, his mouth invaded hers and her silver eyes widened, bewildered beyond words. The aggressive kiss was short, but felt like an eternity to the aghast Daiyu. He pulled his face away from hers; licking her blood from his lips as his golden eyes were lit like wildfire. "You are my intended mate."

His words reverberated into her soul and the last thing she heard before her vision faded to black and collapsed into his chest.


	2. A Promise Made

"Little Daiyu." The little wolf cub's pointed ears twitched at the sound of her name being called by her father's voice just as she was plucking a large white peony from its dark green stem. She carried it with both hands as she went to answer her father's summon. Her small feet patted against the stone steps as she found her father in the center of the garden, talking to the two foreign visitors from the land across the sea. A male and female dog demon with tremendous power that even a small, inexperienced cub could feel.

She regarded them with extreme shyness as she ran up to hide behind her father's legs and her father chuckled at the visitors.

"My apologies," Her father said while addressing the dog demons, "We don't let her outside the castle often, so she's a bit shy."

"It is understandable, Lord Shoushan," The female cooed, "The outside world is much too dangerous for a young one as precious as this one."

"Thank you, Lady Inukimi." He said before turning towards his daughter, he rested his hand on the top of her ebony hair. "Go and greet our visitors, they traveled all the way from Japan."

"Japan?" She murmured with timid curiosity. The young Daiyu looked more closely at the two foreigners, noticing their large displays of fur with elegant attire that was similar yet unlike the hanfu, pienfu, changpao and shenyi suits that she had seen within her clan. They both had long white hair and almost twin markings, most noticeably the crescent moon on their foreheads like they were some sort of deity.

"This is Lady Inukimi and her son Sesshoumaru No Taisho, son of the great Inu No Taisho." Her father introduced, "Many years from now, he will take care of you."

"How so?" She asked, "I have you, father, to take care of me."

Her father and the Lady Inukimi chuckled at this, though Sesshoumaru remained without emotion, he seemed too busy with making an assessment of her. His golden eyes weighing heavy on her and causing her to fidget with unease for being scrutinized.

"No, no," Shoushan said, "He is your mate-to-be."

Being a child, she could not fully comprehend this, but she knew of the bond between her mother and father. Forever inseparable and great companions. She assessed mating as more along the lines of everlasting friendship, so her contour brightened at her father's words.

"Go on, Daiyu, greet him properly." Shoushan encouraged before patting her on the back, nudging her towards the dog demon. She took in a breath and then walked over to him, still holding the flower between her hands. Sesshoumaru crouched down to be at eye level with her as she stood close in front of him. Silver eyes met gold and Daiyu mentally fought off her trepidation by biting her lower lip before holding out her hands to him. He seemed a bit startled by her gesture as he stared down at the white peony. He held out his hand and she was fascinated at how much larger they were compared to even her father's. She placed the white flower in his awaiting hand, and then she took a step closer to him and gently kissed the side of his face, a gesture of welcome and acceptance.

"Thank you, Daiyu." Sesshoumaru murmured as she took a step back. Her mate-to-be then leaned towards her and kissed her forehead, his warm breath tickling her skin. When he parted from her, she looked up at him and smiled, her expression genuinely cheerful.

Any of her uneasiness had dissipated and she suddenly felt happiness at his presence. Feeling just as comfortable in his presence as with her father or mother and she took full liberties of this for that entire summer, in which she attempted to be around Sesshoumaru as often as she could. She found her mysterious mate-to-be intriguing and he seemed incredibly patient with her, even went so far as to please her whenever the situation arose.

She remembered that first full moon, a night in which the entire pack joins for a run through the woods, hunt and howl at the moon. Being dogs, Sesshoumaru and Inukimi were able to join in, two white towers among a sea of black fur which were the trademark of the wolves of the north. She was small, even in her true form, standing no taller than a full grown horse and it was difficult to keep up with the pack, but she was resilient. They reached the densest part of the forest and the most prey infested and the pack scattered, beginning the hunt. She noticed her father and Sesshoumaru go off in the same direction and wanted to follow, but her mother nudged her back, preferring her to stay safe with her and Inukimi.

Not long later, members of her pack returned, signs of their victorious hunt evident by the blood on their fur. Her father padded into view, blood splattered as well, but with a deer in his mouth which he carried proudly in his jowls to then drop at Daiyu's mother's feet. Daiyu, usually partaking in her father's offering, was about to eat the deer with her mother but then Sesshoumaru's silhouette appeared. His snow white fur tainted with bright crimson as he trotted over to the wolf pack. Daiyu's eyes widened as she noticed that he was carrying a large buck between his massive fangs. Following the same pattern as her father, he dropped it on the ground as an offering, this time for her.

Daiyu could not express her happiness enough as she bounded over to Sesshoumaru's lowered head and licked around his muzzle before turning to the buck and wolfing it down while he made himself busy with cleaning his fur by licking the blood off.

After everyone had eaten, they traveled in a leisurely pace towards the mountaintop. Once there, many of the wolves would play around at this time of the night, engaging in wrestling or teasing one another. Inukimi did not engage in this behavior and Sesshoumaru looked just as enthused as his mother, but Daiyu didn't let that affect her wanting to play with him. She pounced on him once he had taken to lying down, her tiny jowls clenching onto his pillow like ears. Much to her surprise, he didn't retaliate but merely endured it. Disappointed, she released his ear and pressed her paw into his neck, emitting a pleading puppy whine. She continued poking her paw into his neck, whining incessantly and finally he growled. Before she could react, he pinned her with his paw, which was almost as big as she was and she squeaked. When he lifted his paw from her she bolted at him, but he evaded her attack. She paused in her mock-assault, unsure as to whether he was truly playing with her, but then he lowered his head and stared at her with eyes that seemed to be saying, "Come on, you're the one who wanted to play."

With an excited bark she gave chase, attempting to nip at his paws, but he evaded each snap with poise. When he grew tired of being chased around by a little cub hardly reaching past his foreleg, he lightly tackled her with his nose, pressing it into her belly and if she were in her humanoid form, she would have giggled.

When the moon raised itself high into the night sky, marking the time as midnight, the pack howled loudly with pride. Singing over the mountaintops, voicing their claim to the lands and an old saying that has been passed through the ages.

"For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack." (Rudyard Kipling)

Sesshoumaru and Inukimi were silent during these proclamations, just watching the wolves silently. Welcomed though they were, but still outsiders and not wolves. The wolves then began to howl without words, just to emit the music like sound, then they joined in.

Hours passed and the howling drew to a close as the wolves began to head back to their homes. As they traveled through the forest, Daiyu gave an exhausted yawn, appearing quite fatigued. Her mother and father had left her in Sesshoumaru's care, knowing fully that she was well taken care of in the dog demon's hands, or paws in this matter. He was walking slowly for her sake in front of her and turned his massive head towards her. With a poof of white smoke, he morphed into his human form and she followed suit, though in a billow of black mist.

He came to stand in front of her, his figure looming over the young cub and he raised a brow.

"Too much playing around?" He teased while she made no effort to retort. Sesshoumaru kneeled down and scooped her up with one arm, hooking her under her knees. She grasped onto tufts of the fur over his right shoulder and the front of his haori, resting her cheek against the soft silk before emitting another tired yawn. He continued walking, though at a faster pace than before.

"When are we going to be mates, Lord Sesshoumaru?" Daiyu asked curiously, "How old will I be?"

"Perhaps not for another century and a half." He murmured and Daiyu's eyes widened in bewilderment.

"That's a long time!" She exclaimed.

"It is. Though it will feel longer to you." He said, "When it is time, I will return for you."

"You're not staying?" She whispered, her expression turning sad. "But I don't want you to go. Why do you have to go?"

At her saddened tone, Sesshoumaru paused in his walk to look at the small cub in his arms, whom had begun to cry.

"Don't cry, Daiyu." He said, though he knew that his command would be ignored. "The separation is necessary. Besides, I must return to my territory."

This didn't seem to lighten her mood, only crying harder at his words and Sesshoumaru grew quiet. She had her hands in tight fists under her eyes and he gently lowered them before wiping her dampened cheeks with his sleeve. She sniffed as he lowered his arm and Sesshoumaru huffed as more tears sprung forth, then wiped her face again. When she had finally stopped crying, Sesshoumaru kissed her forehead.

"The time will pass before you know it."


	3. Of Dogs and Wolves

A full grown Daiyu slowly regained consciousness, her body feeling heavy and unable to move as several voices spoke over her head, though she couldn't focus on the words.

Where was she?

The pain was unbearable and in between light awakenings, she heard her own cries as blurry silhouettes above her seemed to try healing her, some even went so far as to soothe her feverish deliriums. She cried for her pack, her father and mother, and every so often for Sesshoumaru and she wondered why. He had been completely absent from her life for the last century. She blamed it on instinct, which knew him instantly as her intended mate, despite the long gap in time. Wolves mated only once, a sense of extreme loyalty inherent in their very nature and she hoped that dog demons were the same.

It took her a while for her eyes to work as her dark lashes slowly drew open and light pierced her sight. She blinked away the pain, then gazed with heavy lids up towards a wooden ceiling.

She was inside a house?

Her gaze shifted to the side, though her head felt too heavy to move. Through her hazy vision, she saw two human little girls, though she could not pinpoint their age, she was unfamiliar with human life span. The girls appeared to be mirror images of themselves, identical twins.

The patter of their bare feet against the hard wood floors sounded like stomping elephants to her sensitive ears and her head throbbed in pain. One of the little girls stomped over to her and was saying something, and Daiyu tried to focus on what dialect they were using.

"You…speaking Japanese?" She managed to whisper, shocking the little girl, but she seemed to understand her words and nodded her head. It had been ages since Daiyu had spoken this language and it was difficult for her to understand the child as she began chattering with enthusiasm.

"Yes, ma'am!" The girl exclaimed, "You seem pretty banged up, but you look a lot better than when you got here. Mama, auntie Kagome and Lord Sesshoumaru have been taking care of you."

"Sessh…Sesshoumaru?" She asked weakly and the girl nodded.

Daiyu attempted to lift herself, but then groaned from the nauseating pain that erupted from her wound, which was still far from fully healed. Both girls came toward her and helped her sit up and she panted from the strain. Her whole body felt like it had been crushed by a mountain slide. One of the twins patted her lightly on the back in attempt to ease her pain.

"Thank you." Daiyu breathed tiredly after they had managed to get her to stand. "I can handle it from here. You can carry on with your playing."

The girls nodded then took off, much quicker than what she had anticipated. Daiyu pressed her hand against her wound as it gave painful throbs and noticed that she was not wearing the same clothes as before. Her Chinese attire was replaced with a woman's kimono, the soft pink of the silk felt unlike her usual choice of clothing. She usually wore black, grey or blue tones as a tribute to her tribe.

She frowned at this thought. Colors which brought forth emotions of pride and strength would be nothing more than a memorial now.

With a crestfallen demeanor and a pained expression, Daiyu picked up her father's sword and slowly exited the foreign house that she had found herself in to find herself even more on unfamiliar ground.

"A human village?" She muttered beneath her breath, out of breath already. If Tingfeng sent even his weakest assassin, she would not last a second.

"Hey there gorgeous!" a man's voice hollered and three men came walking towards her, reeking of body odor, which was unfamiliar to her, and sake. The biggest of the three slammed his hand on the wooden wall behind her and loomed over her, his breath making her recoil in disgust.

"Whatcha up to darlin'? Going somewhere?" He chuckled before touching her hair and Daiyu smacked it away, all the while wondering if all human males were so forward and rude. "Now don't be like that, baby, have a little fun once in a while." The moment she felt his hand grabbing her breast, she broke his jaw with a quick punch to the face and the man landed several yards away.

"You little bitch!" the other two men yelled as she panted, a mixture of increasing fatigue and pain expressed strongly in her sickly pale face, but her eyes were alit with anger.

"Hey, fuck off, you lowlifes!" An unfamiliar male voice barked close by and Daiyu noticed the humans in front of her grow pale in fear before quickly scurrying off, dragging their unconscious friend behind them. She looked over to find a male demon running towards her, whom had significant amount of similar features to that of Sesshoumaru.

"Keh, you shouldn't be moving around." He said as he came to stand in front of her, "You were half dead when Sesshoumaru dropped your ass here."

"Who…are you?" She asked, panting still but lighter than before.

"I'm Inuyasha." He stated with a rough manner as Daiyu noticed his ears and lack of markings like Sesshoumaru and Inukimi, his scent was a bit odd as well.

"You're a hanyou, aren't you?" She asked as she leaned back, using the wall behind her for support. "I've never…seen one before."

She felt herself losing strength and she began to slide down the wall, but then Inuyasha grabbed her by the shoulders and lifted her back up.

"You look like shit." He muttered, "Why the hell did you get out of bed?"

"Sesshoumaru…" She breathed weakly, but she couldn't form her question, but Inuyasha seemed to understand her enough.

"He was here until this morning," Inuyasha explained, "You were improving, so he left. Mentioning something about bear demons being better nourishment."

So he's gone hunting, she thought, somewhat relieved.

"I see." She sighed heavily. "Do you mind taking me to somewhere I can sit down?" She asked and Inuyasha nodded before propping her on his back with expertise.

"You must do this a lot." Daiyu murmured over his shoulder.

"You have no idea." He exasperated as he walked towards the forest, but stopped once they were in a clearing behind his house to a tree stub used for chopping wood and he set her down.

"You know, you don't have to wait for the bastard." Inuyasha huffed as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "He's probably taking his sweet fucking time."

"It's not that." She said as she tried to sit upright from her hunched over position. "I can't rest with all the racket the humans are making, it's making my head hurt! How can you stand this?"

"Ah," He sighed, "I've kind of gotten used to it. I would prefer to live much farther away from the village, but my wife insisted that we live close."

"Wife?"

"Yeah, it's what humans refer to as a female mate, the males are called husbands." He explained, "It's not that different than mating, but they make you go through a shit-long ceremony and crap."

"Did you have to do that?"

"Of course," Inuyasha said, strongly expressing his agitation over the memory, "Since my wife's human and all, the whole ceremony took all day!"

"Wow." Daiyu said, "Glad I'm not human."

"No shit."

Daiyu lowered her head and closed her eyes in attempt to calm her frazzled nerves from all of the raucous, appearing half asleep as Inuyasha stayed next to her the entire time. After a good hour passed, she opened her eyes and gave Inuyasha a hard look.

"What are you hovering around me for?" She asked bluntly and he snarled.

"Don't start bitching to me! It's not my preference either!" He growled before sitting on the ground with his legs bent and ankles crossed, holding a shabby looking katana against his shoulder. "Sesshoumaru made me promise to keep a close eye on you before he left, saying something about some demons hunting you down."

"Is he your alpha?"

"Fuck no!" Inuyasha growled loudly, his youkai aura flaring up like oil tossed into an open flame. "No way in fucking hell is that son of a bitch my alpha! He just shows up whenever the fuck he wants! Dumping Rin and whatever bullshit I have to deal with then takes off like it ain't a big deal!"

"Did you take in this Rin, person?"

"Well, yeah, I kinda had no choice."

"And he asks you to guard over me and here you are, hovering like a vulture over a carcass."

"What are you getting at?"

"I think that just about answers it." She stated as she brushed her hair over her shoulder while the half-demon in front of her fumed. He seemed easy and irresistible to tease, she thought as she tried to contain her triumphant smirk.

"You ungrateful bitch." He muttered and her smirk faded.

"What was that?" She said, a dark tone lacing her voice as her eyes glinted, "Does the dog want me to throw him a fucking bone of appreciation?"

"Why don't you fucking crawl back yourself!" He yelled in her face and she snarled.

"I will! Nobody wants to ride on your damned flea bitten back anyway!"

"Hey, Sesshoumaru's calling and he's saying to kick your good for nothing ass back to where you came from, Chinese bitch!"

"Why don't you lick his fucking feet while you're at it, like a good omega!"

"If there wasn't a hole in your stomach, I'd fucking punch your lights out!"

"Go ahead and try, half-breed!"

"Guys! Guys!" A man's voice cut in and Daiyu and Inuyasha tore their infuriated gaze over to the intruder. A man in monk's attire had his hands up in surrender as he smiled uneasily at the two angry demons. "Come on, do try to be friendly. Lord Sesshoumaru has entrusted us with the care of the fair Lady Daiyu," the monk then turned to Daiyu, "and, my Lady, you are far from being fully recuperated."

Daiyu raised a dark brow at the human before huffing out a short breath, letting out her anger while Inuyasha addressed the monk.

"What's up, Miroku?"

"It seems Lady Kagome and Sango are still busy collecting medicine for Lady Daiyu." He informed. "The kids are with them, so I have some time. Would you like some company?"

"Yeah, but careful with the she-wolf," Inuyasha said as Daiyu glared daggers into the back of his head, "She bites."

"With those luscious lips?" The monk cooed as he quickly came over to her and kneeled, his demeanor sparkling with the energy of an experienced womanizer as he grasped tightly onto her hands. "If I had not known, I would have taken you as the goddess of the night, mysterious and enchanting, with your long raven hair and eyes that sparkle like the stars or could you be a succubus, here to steal away my soul with your beauty which awakens even the most dormant of loins."

"Miroku, stop that before you get slaughtered." Inuyasha muttered, taking note of Daiyu's flaring aura that screamed 'murder'.

Miroku released her hands with a disappointed sigh and a dejected demeanor. "Temptress though you are, it is impossible, I am married with three kids."

'Now he admits it,' Inuyasha and Daiyu both thought, both equally bemused.

"I think I've had enough for one day." Daiyu stated as she stood up, though with strain. "I'm going to take a nap."

She turned on her heel and headed straight to the forest when a hand grasped tightly onto her elbow.

"If you're going to rest, do it in the house." Inuyasha said, "You'll cause a lot of trouble if the ones out to kill you catch a whiff of your scent in the open air."

Daiyu growled, displeased, but regarded his words carefully before nodding her consent and she changed her direction towards the house. Inuyasha and Miroku followed behind her and she sighed heavily, desiring greatly for the once quiet tranquility of her homeland as she entered the house and stomped across the wooden floors, then stopped in front of her bed. Daiyu sat down onto the futon and with her father's sword already in hand, she unsheathed the blade to gaze at her own tired expression.

"Father…" she whispered, brushing her fingers across the steel. She slid the sheath back on before lying down, clutching the sword tightly to her chest as it hummed in response with his energy, bringing her to tears as she cried herself quietly to sleep with an overwhelming sense of loneliness.


	4. Marks

"Daiyu…Daiyu…"

The she wolf groaned in her sleep, then fluttered her eyes open. Though in a daze from being shaken from her deep sleep, Daiyu could make out a familiar white silhouette and her nose picked up Sesshoumaru's musky scent which was saturated with the fragrance of maple trees. She was about to sit up, but his hand pressed her back down.

"There's no need to get up just yet." He said, "You need only to wake up. I have brought food."

Before Daiyu could respond, he had hooked his arm underneath her knees and around her back, then lifted her from the floor. He carried her outside of her room and brought her to the living room where Daiyu could detect Inuyasha and his wife's scent from her position against Sesshoumaru's chest. From the smells in the room, they had just recently had dinner and Kagome was cleaning up for the night.

"How is she doing?" Daiyu heard Kagome ask, but did not answer herself.

"I will return with her later." Sesshoumaru replied, not answering Kagome's question.

As Sesshoumaru brought her outside, Daiyu shivered in the cold night air, which a demon like herself rarely ever did and her carrier clenched more tightly around her shoulders. She was on the verge of sleep once more when suddenly Sesshoumaru stopped a distance from Inuyasha's house and even farther from the village. He set her down as gently as he could against an enormous tree trunk and her eyes peeked through dark lashes at him with dull grey eyes.

"Why did you drag my ass out here?" Daiyu mumbled drowsily, however Sesshoumaru remained silent as he pulled at his fur. He unwrapped the mokomoko around himself before bringing it to wrap around her body. Daiyu watched him stand up fully, then turn on his heel towards a large bear demon carcass, which had already been cleaned and stripped of its fur. A quick tearing sound came to Daiyu's ears, then Sesshoumaru returned, a filet of raw red meat in his hand. He crouched down in front of her and brought the meat up before her mouth, his gesture was more of a command to feed her and Daiyu frowned.

"Just because I'm injured doesn't mean I can't feed myself." Daiyu quipped from her position against the tree as she brought Sesshoumaru's mokomoko more tightly around her shoulders.

"Just shut up and eat." Sesshoumaru retorted before shoving the meat into her mouth. Daiyu attempted a glare at him, but the effort was lost as her instincts arose, causing a light red hue to appear over her eyes. She was starving.

In an instant, she was wolfing down the meat that Sesshoumaru kept feeding to her, any of her previous resentment lost as she quickly sated her appetite. When the bear had been nearly stripped to its bones, Daiyu gave a sigh of relief and relaxed into the fur, the redness in her eyes disappearing and her silver eyes regarded Sesshoumaru lackadaisically.

"Thanks." She murmured quietly, "I didn't realize how hungry I was."

"Hn."

Sesshoumaru was wiping the blood off of his hands with a rag before tossing it over his shoulder to be quickly forgotten, then turned his attention back to Daiyu. His fingertips, mindful of the claw-like tips, brushed her raven hair from her cheek and tucked behind her ear. The action causing her eyes to widen like saucers and her face to erupt with heat as she drew back from him. At her recoil, his hand drew away from her, a frown appearing on his pale face as his golden eyes bore into her. He said nothing, however Daiyu could feel his question through the intensity of his gaze and she became overwrought with unease.

"Sorry, sorry." She muttered, "It's just that…"

She bit onto her lower lip, her face becoming flush with her embarrassment before she averted her gaze to stare down at her hands. "I'm not…" She mentally kicked herself in agitation by this point. Why was it so difficult to just spit it out?

"Experienced?" Sesshoumaru suddenly put in and Daiyu's mouth dropped.

"Th-that's n-not exactly-"

"So you've been touched by another?' Sesshoumaru stated coldly and Daiyu felt the hair rise on the back of her neck as she felt his aura spike with aggression.

"No! No!" She exclaimed, raising her hands up in defeat, "It's just that I'm still kinda processing all of this. I feel like everything just blew up in my face, all in just a short amount of time, and I haven't had any time to go over it in my head."

Sesshoumaru's frown did not lighten as he regarded the she-wolf in front of him, his face drawing close to hers and his hand snaking up to brush against her neck and she shuddered.

"What are you-!"

"Quiet!" His voice was quiet, yet was filled with demand and Daiyu complied as he leaned closer to her. His breath tickled her neck, his large hands grasping onto her shoulders and drawing her closer to him. She flinched with shock as his fangs scraped against her neck and a feral growl emanated from him; reverberating into her body.

"You're gonna mark me already?" Daiyu exclaimed, her hands were pressing against his chest in attempt to shove herself away, but he held her more firmly. He released another, much louder growl and Daiyu became rigid, however, he did not bite her. After a long moment, which felt like an eternity to the anxious Daiyu, Sesshoumaru raised his head to her eye level, a devilish smirk arising on his face.

"Why act so repulsed, Daiyu? I seem to remember you crying out in your fever for me just days a go."

Daiyu was aghast as her face flushed beet red and she tried hiding her expression into his mokomoko. Her reaction ushering a wider smirk to his lips before he drew closer to her again, his arms snaking around her much smaller frame and his long legs lightly bent on either side of her. She felt like he was blocking her between the tree behind her and with him so close.

"Aargh! You damn dog!" She growled into the fur. His breath returned to her neck and Daiyu trembled. Her hands lightly clenched onto the front of his haori as he kissed into her skin, her body tingled as if a spark of electricity was crawling up her spine and her heart pounded loudly in her ears. With breath hitching, she felt him raise his head and then kissed her fully on the lips. There was less shock to this kiss, but heated anticipation, so Daiyu returned his affections with equal fervor and she moaned against him.

She wanted to forget everything. To be completely lost to the world and drown herself and he seemed more than willing to supply her. His hot mouth and skilled tongue melting her into a stupor that she never wanted to rouse from, however, as his large hands roamed across her belly she flinched in pain and he withdrew from her, ushering a puppy-like whine from Daiyu.

"We will continue this when you are fully healed." Sesshoumaru murmured, "But I am pleased with your enthusiasm."

"Shut up." She growled before shoving him back, but he didn't budge an inch from her. He got up into a crouch before slipping himself behind her, his back against the large tree as he drew her against him between his legs. She leaned against him, her fingers lightly treading down his neck as a confident smile arose on her countenance.

"What is it?" He asked, though his expression appeared calm. She suddenly nipped at his neck as a chuckle arose from her.

"I'll be the one to mark you first." She said and a growl arose from him.

"We'll see about that, wolf!" He mock snarled before grasping onto her tightly, then attacked her neck with lavishing kisses and nips.

* * *

><p>It had become late into the night before she had realized it, being much too engrossed with the insatiable exchange of affections, until Sesshoumaru broke off from her. He was about to get up, but Daiyu pressed him back down.<p>

"I want to sleep out here." She said but he shook his head.

"I would prefer you inside." He said, already getting up again. Daiyu was lifted up by him once more, the mokomoko still wrapped around her, before he began to walk them back to his brother's house. She yawned greatly, but then was startled as Sesshoumaru halted in his steps and his head turned to look over his shoulder. She noticed his nostrils flare with an intake of scent, and then his shoulders grew tense.

"What is it?" She sniffed the air and the smell of cat came to her nose. "Put me down."

Sesshoumaru complied and set her on her feet before he turned on his heel, his back facing her as several figures emerged through the woods. She was about to step out from behind him to face her attackers, but Sesshoumaru nudged her back behind him.

"You are in no condition to fight." Sesshoumaru stated. Daiyu was about to argue but Sesshoumaru gave her a heated glare, demanding obedience from her and she bit back a rebellious growl.

"Fine! Just this once, I'll sit this out." Daiyu grumbled, "But if you start getting your ass handed to you, then don't blame me."

"That is most unlikely."

"…What? Are you referring to not blaming me or the possibility of getting your ass kicked?"

"Both."

"You overconfident bastard!" Daiyu snarled, but Sesshoumaru said nothing in retort as he withdrew Bakusaiga. The cats stepped into the moonlight, their eyes glowing in the darkness as they withdrew their weapons. Daiyu counted two leopards, both of which were females, one jaguar, and three mountain lions.

"Move aside, dog." One of the lions demanded, "We have no business with you."

"You trespass on my territory to threaten my future mate," Sesshoumaru stated, his expression was calm, but anyone could feel his aura spiking angrily. "I believe that gives me more than adequate reason to rip out your insides."

"Oh? The bitch got herself a mate already? She must have been desperate… " One of the female leopards coyly chimed, "to open her legs so quickly like a common whore."

"At least somebody wants to fuck me, you fucking transvestite!" Daiyu quipped loudly and was about to step out from behind Sesshoumaru.

"Daiyu!" He snarled and she quickly remembered herself, but gave a short snarl in animosity all the while the insulted leopard yowled in tantrum.

"Let's get this over with, shall we." The lion demon said, ignoring the outburst as he drew out his double edged blade and his cohorts followed suit, whipping out their various weapons before facing off against Sesshoumaru. Daiyu was growing nervous, how was Sesshoumaru going to face off against 6 attackers at once?

Sesshoumaru did not hesitate, with a quick slash of his blade and eruption of green and gold light exploded forth, killing four of them, leaving the one female leopard and the lion demon.

"What the-!" Daiyu gasped, bewildered beyond words with the strength of Sesshoumaru, to kill them so quickly without moving a step from his spot in front of her.

The lion demon sped forward and then slashed his blade at Sesshoumaru and Daiyu. A burst of demonic energy blasted at the pair and Sesshoumaru took a step back until Daiyu was right behind him and could feel her against his body before he used his blade and the explosive energy crashed against it. Daiyu's eye lids were clenched shut as gusts of air swirled around them like a tornado and she clutched onto the back of his haori to steady herself.

With a short grunt, Sesshoumaru rebounded the blast and it finally released with a burst of light many yards away from where they stood. The lion demon's mouth was slightly agape, his eyes wide with his aghast expression.

"How do we-?" The leopard demoness exclaimed, but the lion cut her off.

"We retreat! There is nothing we can do against him right now."

The lion and leopard demons leapt away from Sesshoumaru and Daiyu, their tails whipping behind them as they scurried away while Daiyu couldn't help but laugh at the situation.

"Don't think you've won just yet! We will come back with reinforcements and when that happens, I will personally gauge your eyes and tongue out, bitch!" The leopard snarled at Daiyu.

"What was that you said? I'm sorry I couldn't hear you." Daiyu hollered back, stepping from behind Sesshoumaru, "Maybe if you stopped running with your tails between your three legs, she-male-!"

"Whore!"

Daiyu growled and was about to run after the leopard, but Sesshoumaru grasped onto her arm and pulled her back.

"Enough!" He scolded loudly, his golden eyes appearing hot with acrimony and Daiyu froze. "It would behoove you to show some restraint. It would not be wise to let your temper control your actions, especially on the battle field."

"But that bitch-!"

"I said enough!" He snarled this time, making Daiyu flinch. At her reaction, he took a moment to cool down himself with a long exhale. His grip on her arm lightened, then released and Daiyu rubbed at the soreness in her arm from his steel-like grip.

"You're being an asshole." Daiyu muttered loudly, obviously not attempting to hide her comment from him and he fumed, his aura blazing and Daiyu laughed loudly. "See? Look who's pissed now?"

"I should have let those filthy cats eat you alive!"

"Yup, too bad, now you have to take care of me." Daiyu chuckled, "You should have escaped while you had the chance."

"You're a cunning bitch, aren't you?"

"It would not be wise to let your temper control your actions." Daiyu attempted to mimic his voice by talking as deep as she could with a strict expression. Sesshoumaru was seething angrily, if she were Jakken, he would be long dead by now.

"Are you trying to make me kill you, woman?" Sesshoumaru growled low, "Perhaps this Sesshoumaru should reconsider his bachelorhood."

Daiyu petted the mokomoko that was still wrapped around her shoulders and she smirked devilishly, noticing him stiffen.

"Believe me, once we're mated, I will not keep you wanting." She noted that his golden eyes darkened a bit and his scent became a bit muskier from her words, but then he seemed to recover himself after a moment, a glint appearing in his eyes. He stepped toward her and towered over her, causing her to take a step back, but his hands caught her around the waist and her eyes widened.

"I'll hold you to that, you ignorant virgin." He said huskily before giving her a forceful and bruising kiss, knocking the wind out of her and making her tremble greatly. All words of retort lost instantly as she gave in.

* * *

><p>"Are those hickies?" Kagome exclaimed loudly. Daiyu was outstretched on the futon, ready for Kagome to switch out her bandages when the loosening of her collar had revealed quite a number of marks on her olive skin. The she-wolf made no reply as she buried her face in the blanket in attempt to cover herself, her face turning scarlet. She could practically feel Sesshoumaru's silent chuckles in the corner of the room and she smacked him in the back of the head with her pillow.<p> 


	5. Cries To The Moon

The night of the full moon.

The night of the wolf.

It was the first time she had ever witnessed the night of the full moon without her pack and an overwhelming feeling of melancholy had gripped the lone wolf. The feeling of despondency was something she had never felt before and it almost paralyzed her. Despite feeling greatly improved from the bear meat that Sesshoumaru was constantly feeding her with, she had not left her room for the entire day. She did not speak and she did not eat, merely sat against the far wall, her eyes lost in a daze; lost in a hundred and twenty years of memories.

Her youngest memories were when she had recently turned ten; however, her physical appearance and mental capacity were that of a two year old in human years. She had recently managed to do short burst runs, though her tiny feet still had difficulty keeping up with her mother and father. She was incredibly clumsy, seeming to fall over constantly at every turn and her knees and hands always covered in bandages. At times when she had fallen hard, her mother would appear as if from thin air and bundle her up against her chest, cooing softly over her cries and nurturing her wounds. When she would fall in front of her father, however, he would make sure that she got up on her own, and then brushed the dirt from her clothes all the while giving her words of encouragement for coming to stand on her own.

The next memory was an event that occurred ten years later, when she was twenty, but appeared only as a child around six years old. She had met Sesshoumaru then, as well as Inukimi. She remembered the initial meeting, when she had accepted him to be her future mate and the full moon that followed a couple weeks later into their visit. However, she could not recall his departure or the years after, everything was strangely hazy to her, as if time itself had whirred past her knowledge.

Fifty years later, she was considered a pre-teen in wolf youkai years. Her father had begun to train her swordsmanship as well as hand-to-hand combat, despite her mother's vehement disapproval, believing that Daiyu should be training more in being a proper lady. It wasn't long until Daiyu convinced her mother that she was hardly interested in prancing around in elegant hanfu dresses and ribbon dancing. Her mother eventually conceded her tomboyish nature, but only allowed it so long as she showed equal efforts between fighting and her etiquette. Knowing that this was as far as she was going to get with her stubborn mother, Daiyu agreed to the deal and excelled in both masculine and feminine roles.

When she began her first century, there were boys in her clan whom would ask her father for the right to be her mate, but Shoushan merely shook his head and refused all of them, but never voiced aloud the reason. She had asked him curiously at a point in time, but he had refused to even explain to her the reason. He then asked her if she wanted someone in the clan and her answer was that she was not interested in any of them. He then asked her if she knew why that was, but she couldn't answer. She had forgotten that she had already chosen someone, but her instincts had not and her father knew this.

Nineteen years pass and she is on the brink of becoming a full-fledged she-wolf. Her father mentioned that he had something of great importance to tell her after her initiation ceremony. However, the night before the ceremony, the night before she would turn one hundred and twenty in years, Tingfeng had arrived with his vast army and Shun had slain her father and took the sword. Daiyu had never seen her mother cry so hard.

A month later, Daiyu had managed to steal back the sword while her pack fought against the cat youkai. The cat youkai had demolished what was left of her pack and the last one to die was her mother after she had begged Daiyu to flee from China entirely.

And here she was, in foreign lands with a to-be-mate that she could hardly remember promising herself to and the last of her kind on the most important night of the month.

The sun was setting as hues of orange and light red tinged everything it touched with its soft glow, casting the atmosphere around her in a world of colors before the darkness began to draw near. Once night had fallen and the moon began to stretch with its evanescent light, did Daiyu move from her spot on the floor. Black mist unfurled itself from her aura and wrapped around her figure, morphing her down into a ball of blue light before slipping out the small window in her room and out into the forest.

* * *

><p>Sesshoumaru had sensed her leave her room, but was unsure as to if he should follow her. He could sense her depression right down to her very scent and he knew better than anyone alive what this night once had felt to her.<p>

Kagome was the first, besides himself, to notice that Daiyu was greatly saddened by something and had asked Sesshoumaru about it, but he said nothing in response at the time. His thoughts weighing heavy as he contemplated ways in which to lighten Daiyu's spirits, however, he knew anything he did would do nothing to ease her pain. Nothing could bring back her clan, not even Tenseiga.

"Is that Daiyu howling?" Inuyasha asked as his ears perked forward in attention. Sesshoumaru heard a lone howl pierce the air and his pointed ear twitched at the sound. Inuyasha shuddered as another long howl sung loudly, but was definitely from quite a distance from the village.

Anyone within hundreds of miles could probably hear her cries and Sesshoumaru frowned deeply. Under normal circumstances, he would have ordered her silence since she was alerting anyone in this region of Japan that she was near, but he had not the will to do so tonight.

"It sounds so sad." Kagome said, becoming tearful and she dabbed at the corners of her eyes.

"Ugh, what's gotten into her?" Inuyasha exclaimed. His dog ears flattened against his head and Sesshoumaru wondered if it was an attempt to block out the sound or an expression of sadness that she was affecting onto them.

"She howled like this when I left her in China a hundred years a go." Sesshoumaru murmured. At his voice, Inuyasha and Kagome looked to Sesshoumaru, whom was still sitting with his back against the far wall, right next to the door to Daiyu's room.

"Why didn't you visit her?" Kagome asked.

"Her father, Lord Shoushan, strongly requested for me to not make any contact with her until she had come of age and was ready for me because of her reaction when I had left. The pain of coming and going would be too much for her to bare and I complied."

Another long howl sung to their ears, causing both Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru to shudder from the sound and Sesshoumaru blinked back the reddish hue that was beginning to bleed into his eyes before standing up.

"I am going." Sesshoumaru said, then quickly stepped out of the house.

The moment Sesshoumaru had entered the forest, another howl drifted through the night sky and white smoke erupted around him like a tornado. He emerged, fully transformed as he towered over the trees and stomped onto the forest floor, following the sounds of Daiyu's soft cries to the moon.

He found her a half hour later atop the nearest mountain, her lithe black silhouette almost contrasting the snow capped peak. He could see her tipping back her head, raising her nose to the sky before each long howl, then lower it slowly at the end of it. Her black pointed ears flicking forward as if expecting to hear the ghosts of her pack and family call back to her, but only the distant sounds of wild dogs answered with less powerful howls.

Sesshoumaru kicked up into the air and flew over to her as if weightless and she paused in her howls to greet him. Her tail lightly wagged as he stepped onto the mountain. He approached her smaller form which contrasted to his own and she began licking onto his neck, the side of her body brushing up against him and she emitted whines. He was silent as he nuzzled his massive head against her in attempt to comfort her as she mourned for her loss.

Suddenly a wolf howled in the distance, making Daiyu stiffen against him and her ears perked forward with the utmost interest as she peered down over the valley while Sesshoumaru remained silent. Another wolf howled and Sesshoumaru bit back the urge to snarl as he recognized that they weren't just wolves, but wolf youkai.

He had forgotten about Kouga's clan, whom lived not far away. Definitely within hearing of Daiyu's lonely howls and they were replying with fervor, causing Sesshoumaru unease. The black she-wolf beside him began to descend the mountain and he followed quickly behind her as he sensed the wolves drawing near, fully transformed and emitting sounds of excitement, much to Sesshoumaru's discontentment.

Once the pair padded into the forest at a leisurely pace, a pack of brown wolves, dominantly populated by unmated males greeted them and Sesshoumaru could not suppress the rising of his hackles. Daiyu greeted the wolves with innocent enthusiasm and the single males' tails wagged gaily. They came up to sniff her and brush their fur against her in flirtation when Sesshoumaru suddenly shoved them back, taking a possessive stance next to Daiyu, bristling and lips curled up in a feral snarl and the brown wolves snarled in return. Though they were not as large and powerful as Sesshoumaru individually, they relied on their numbers and did not back down when Sesshoumaru threatened them. Daiyu tried to calm the situation down by licking Sesshoumaru's neck and whining, but the situation seemed to worsen as the wolves seemed confused by the female suddenly displaying affection towards the only dog demon and their hackles rose. Daiyu, seeing the situation for what it was, came closer to Sesshoumaru and twisted her tail around his, showing that they were a mated pair and with disappointed whines, the wolves' furs lowered in defeat. It seemed most had accepted this, that was except for two males, one of which was the alpha of the group and they both snarled at Sesshoumaru. The other wolves began to whine, wanting no part in the impending fight and Daiyu felt Sesshoumaru uncoil his tail from her. He nudged her behind him, just as the two wolves attacked him and with a flash of speed, Sesshoumaru tore into their necks. Blood splattered across the ground and tainted his pure white fur as his snarls reverberated loudly over their fearful whines. Within seconds, Sesshoumaru had wounded both attackers and now had the alpha pinned to the ground, his fangs digging into the wolf's neck, demanding obedience or his death. Daiyu whined behind him, saddened by this turn of events, but knew better than to stop two males from going at it like they were.

When the male wolf began to whine loudly did Sesshoumaru release him from his death grip. With a last warning snap of his teeth against the now cowering male's face, Sesshoumaru took a step back. Appearing frighteningly feral, his fur caked with blood and his hackles still rising, Sesshoumaru turned to Daiyu and gestured for them to leave and she complied willingly.

They left the wolf pack quite a ways behind before Sesshoumaru shook out the blood from his fur and Daiyu licked at a shallow gash on the side of his ribs, which sealed itself up within an hour. She was whining her apologies for being the cause of the fight, but Sesshoumaru quickly stopped her by bringing his front leg over the back of her neck and nipped into the top of her head, exuding a playful manner, surprising Daiyu from her whines. She shook him off and bounced around in front of him, teasing him incessantly, until he leapt behind her and nipped at the flesh beside her tail and she snarled. Flabbergasted that he had just bit her ass. Sesshoumaru chuckled devilishly and she pounced at him, but he easily evaded her. Suddenly feeling a sense of déjà vu from when she was young, she attempted to pounce on him again, but he leapt out of her reach once more and she growled in frustration.

She took a moment to think as to what her next course of action will be, then, as Sesshoumaru sat back on his hind legs, exuding confidence. She rolled onto the ground, flailing her tail wildly and Sesshoumaru watched her with an expression that seemed to say, 'have you gone mad'?

She was whining loudly and he finally succumbed as he padded up to her, sniffing into fur, investigating what the hell had gotten into her when her jowls clasped onto the fur around his neck and dragged him down with her. They transformed with a gale of smoke and black mist and Sesshoumaru was lying out on his back with Daiyu kneeling over him, her hands were planted on the ground on either side of his head. She had paused in mid motion, catching herself in an awkward position as she realized that crouching over him while in their true form felt entirely different in their humanoid bodies as she looked about ready to straddle him with her feet planted on either side of his hips. Her face flushed to the deepest shade of red as her silver eyes were wide with bewilderment at her own sudden audacity. She was about to recoil from him when his hands suddenly grasped firmly onto her hips and forced her to sit on top of him.

"This position is not bad, but it is not my favorite." Sesshoumaru stated with nonchalance, as if he were merely speaking of the type of foods that he preferred, and Daiyu smacked him in the chest. He sat up with her still straddling him and from the rather intimate position, Daiyu tried to make an escape, but his hands held firm to her hips. She could feel his sharp nails digging into her skin and the heat of his palms and she shuddered against him. His eyes were alit with fervor as he regarded her with a large, mischievous smirk.

"Do you want to know what my favorite is?" He murmured huskily and Daiyu's breath hitched in her throat. His tongue darted out and licked her neck and she shivered before he suddenly switched positions on her. She found herself on her stomach while he crouched over her back and before she could scold him for forcing her down so suddenly, his teeth grazed her shoulder as one hand slipped between the folds of her kimono and grasped firmly onto her breast while the other was snaking itself down her lower abdomen and she moaned. He pressed her ass into his hips with his right hand while his left kneaded into her tender flesh and her eyes glazed over as her cheeks felt enflamed with heat. She felt his right hand drawing near to her womanhood when she suddenly felt his hot skin against her bare inner thigh and she mewled lustily. As willing as she was at the moment, her body shivered from nervousness and fear from her inexperience with men and Sesshoumaru seemed to sense her anxiety.

"Alright, virgin." Sesshoumaru huskily growled, albeit playfully, "Are you ready to fulfill your promise to me yet?"

"H-here?" Daiyu exclaimed with a pant of breath and Sesshoumaru took a quick glance around the forest and at their position in the dirt and grass and he had more than half the mind to shrug it off and continue, but Daiyu was trembling against him. Perhaps she wasn't quite ready for this sort of play.

"Maybe some other time." Sesshoumaru said with a sigh as he loosened his hold on her and leaned back to sit down. Daiyu was startled greatly by his sudden halt and, to her surprise as well, she felt disappointment sink in. Her entire body tingled with anticipation and lust, making her shudder and to lick her lips hungrily.

She came to sit in front of him, her face still flushed with heat and her heart pounding wildly in her chest as she took a deep inhale and exhale of breath. When she had calmed herself down, she gave Sesshoumaru a death glare before smacking his arm.

"Hey, jackass! You can't just tease a girl and then back off entirely!" She exasperated, causing Sesshoumaru to raise a brow at her. She crouched over his legs and grabbed a hold of his collar with a tight fist before crushing her mouth to his. He growled low with excitement as he challenged her over dominance with their heated, open mouthed kiss and roaming hands. Her hands raked across his bare back after reaching in between the folds of his haori and he was about to tear off her kimono entirely when he suddenly growled angrily. They broke apart from each other just as a whirlwind came hurling toward them with a large pack of wolves. When the dust cleared, Sesshoumaru recognized a pissed off Kouga standing before them and the dog demon was seething.

"Oi, sister!" Kouga addressed Daiyu, whom gave Kouga a glare from her straddled position over Sesshoumaru's hips, her kimono was completely disheveled and hardly covered her at this point.

"What the fuck do you guys want, can't you see we're busy?" Daiyu growled loudly and Sesshoumaru looked about ready to slaughter the entire clan.

Kouga took a long glance at Sesshoumaru, then gasped loudly.

"Y-you're that bastard's brother!"

"Half brother." Sesshoumaru muttered as he stood up. His eyes flashed crimson and he cracked his knuckles with a clench of his claw-like hands as he faced Kouga and his wolf pack, a sinister, dark aura emanating from his body. "You disgusting low-lives dare interrupt our evening once again! I will enjoy disemboweling each and every one of you with my bare hands!"

"Now get this straight, flea-bag! You're the one that tore up two of my pack members! I should be the one pissed off here, bastard!"

"Woah! Woah!" Daiyu cut in, she stepped between Sesshoumaru and Kouga, each appearing on the brink to slaughter each other. "Are you clan leader?"

It took a moment for Kouga to tear his heated glare from Sesshoumaru, when he looked to her his face softened a bit. "Yeah."

"Listen, the two wolves had challenged Sesshoumaru and he was just defending himself." Daiyu explained, "They should be grateful that Sesshoumaru didn't kill them when he had every right to."

Kouga whipped his head back to the eagerly awaiting pack behind him, "Is this true, Kazuo? Ginji?"

Now in human form, two male wolf youkai were swaying slightly, covered in abrasions. Their largest wounds came from their necks where Sesshoumaru had tore into them and the scent of poison radiated from them, which caught Daiyu's attention. She had not noticed before that Sesshoumaru's body had poisonous glands and she wondered how was it that she had never been infected by mistake, there were plenty of times when she could have been exposed to it.

"That dog deserves it!" The one Daiyu supposed was Kazuo shouted, "We finally find a woman and that fucking dog has her!"

"Do I look like breeding stock to you, jack ass?" Daiyu fumed, her eyes flashing with animosity.

"Can't we kill him, Kouga?" Ginji whined, completely ignoring Daiyu's protest. "She would make a good addition to the pack!"

"Do what you want, I ain't helping." Kouga muttered, "There's no benefit for me in this."

"That's because you already have a mate! So we want one to!" Another wolf joined in while Sesshoumaru and Daiyu were fuming in the background, though Sesshoumaru was silent compared to the snarling Daiyu.

"Sesshoumaru, stay out of this one. I want to kick their teeth in personally." Daiyu growled. Sesshoumaru hesitated a moment, seeming to think the situation over, but then conceded with a nod.

Daiyu stepped forward, though she did not unsheathe her sword. "Alright, you horny bastards! Show me what you got!"

Kouga looked back at her, startled by her challenge along with the other wolves. "Have fun." Kouga sighed before taking a step back and sitting on top of a log.

"Which one are you challenging?" Kazuo asked Daiyu.

"I don't give a shit, one or all. It makes no difference to me." Daiyu chuckled sinisterly, "All of you will be licking the ground sooner or later."

"Is she serious?"

"Come on!" She shouted, "Stop whining like little bitches and fight! You call yourselves wolves?"

They growled loudly and charged at once, attacking with full force and Daiyu's expression became diabolic, laughing sinisterly, eyes a glow, as she crouched in a poise position, awaiting them with enthusiasm. The first wave of wolves got close and she began obliterating them, one by one.

Sesshoumaru had not moved from his spot as he watched her fight with the finesse of an expert in combat. With her kimono hardly covering her as she weaved between the wolf youkai before pounding them to the floor with kicks and punches, she looked more like she was doing some sort of freestyle exotic dance and Sesshoumaru didn't know whether to be delighted for being able to watch or angry that she was also giving the same show to all of the wolves before they would be knocked out.

"Damn! I'm glad I stayed out of this one! Look at her go!" Kouga chuckled as he watched from his sitting position and Sesshoumaru's frown deepened.

"Hn."

(BTW, I have made a profile drawing of Daiyu on deviantart. To check it out, go to the website and search murazaki-sama (my account name) and the pic is called "Black Jade". I tried putting in the link but for some reason it doesn't work. Whatevs!)


	6. Fighting Poison With Poison

"Oh, this does not look good."

Daiyu heard Miroku sigh loudly, his expression heavy with over dramatized worry and her dark brows furrowed. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned on the wooden wall behind her as she assessed the room they were in with her senses. Miroku was making negotiations to the very rich lord of the castle, which was nearby to the village, and his accountant while she and Inuyasha took to the back wall, sharing similar expressions of utter disappointment.

"It would seem that this is going to be quite a challenge. There is the presence of a powerful, evil spirit here." Miroku continued, "But rest assured, we can handle this."

"How much will you charge?" The accountant asked, holding a brush dabbed in ink and a wooden plank. He began scribbling down information as soon as Miroku listed off the prices and Daiyu yawned loudly.

"Bored already?" Inuyasha muttered, his tone saturated with agitation, "What were you expecting, a blood bath the moment we arrived?"

"Agh! Is it always like this? Why not just kill the damn thing now and talk about all this crap later?"

"Because we won't get paid, dip shit!"

Daiyu's face became smug as her brow twitched at the insult, "Who's the dip shit? I'm not going off spouting off crap and ripp-!"

Inuyasha clamped his hand over her mouth before she could continue and with a growl she bit into his hand, and he yelped in pain.

"You bitch! What the hell?" Inuyasha growled, "Why don't you go back to the village before you fuck this up?"

"No, asshole! Not until I get my share!"

"We don't need you, you got that! You don't even need the money, Sesshoumaru's fuckin loaded!"

"Why does that matter?"

"If you two are going to fight, please do so outside. At least until we're done with the arrangements." Miroku was glaring daggers at the quarreling demons out of the corner of his eye so as the clients didn't see, bewildering Daiyu and Inuyasha to the point where they froze in their positions. They appeared like they were trying to choke each other and the lord coughed in his hand awkwardly. They released each other and assumed their previous sulking positions against the wall while Miroku continued.

"Those two are demons, aren't they?" The lord of the castle asked, gesturing with his thumb towards the two against the wall.

"One is, the other is half." Miroku answered, sincerely.

"The woman is half?"

"No, actually the other way around."

"Most interesting."

It took quite a while to come to an agreement with the pricing, but Miroku managed to get quite a deal and so they finally proceeded with the exorcism. They locked themselves up into the lady's chambers, the lord's wife, and Daiyu was shocked to find several maids awaiting them in front of a vast wardrobe.

"What's with this?" Daiyu asked as Miroku and Inuyasha entered.

"Oh, this is your job." Miroku chimed merrily before patting her on the back. "You're gonna be our bait."

"What?"

"The demon we are hunting has been attacking the noble women inside of the castle at night. So, we are going to disguise you as the lady of the castle and once the demon shows up, you can seduce it with your beauty and we will kill it in no time."

"Are you serious?" Daiyu exasperated with animosity, "You want me to seduce it?"

"Yes, why else would I agree to have you share in the profits when I already have Inuyasha for extra muscle?"

"Sesshoumaru isn't gonna like this." She muttered under her breath and a cunning smile emerged on Miroku's lips.

"That's why I took the liberty of asking the women to keep him busy."

At this, Daiyu blinked in confusion.

"What do you mean by tha-?"

"Hurry up and get ready, now. We're loosing daylight, here." Miroku exclaimed before shoving her into the wardrobe closet, the maids quickly following behind before closing them inside.

While the maids were working on Daiyu's disguise, Inuyasha and Miroku sat around on the tatami mat drinking hot sake with a light meal. Inuyasha laid out lackadaisically on his side, leaning his head on his palm while Miroku poured them another glass, his eyes bright with glee as he hummed drinking songs.

"This is the life!" Miroku exclaimed merrily before taking a giant swig of the wine. "We should bring back a barrel of this stuff!"

"Keh, that's a bad idea." Inuyasha chuckled, "Kagome gets drunk so quickly and she rants about random crap and 'sits' me to infinity."

"Indeed, she does." Miroku laughed, "It's too bad, Sango is quite pleasing when she's drunk."

"Really? I thought she was an angry drunk too."

"Ah, quite the opposite actually." Miroku chuckled mischievously, a glint sparkled in his eyes and Inuyasha recognized he was thinking of something incredibly perverse. "She-"

"-I don't wanna know." Inuyasha cut in before finishing off another glass as Miroku gave him a disappointed look. "Why? It is only natural among men to boast about our exploits."

"I get enough of gossip from Kagome, I pretty much know everything anyhow."

"Sango talks about **that** to Kagome?"

"Yup. Quite a lot too. I guess it's not just men who boast."

"What things has she said?" Miroku asked, suddenly anxious. "You have to tell me!"

"Ah! Why the hell do I gotta say it?" Inuyasha growled as he scratched behind one of his ears. Miroku sat up fully before slamming his hands onto the floor, taking a pose that was on the verge of begging and Inuyasha sighed heavily.

"She says that you two do…y'know, rough stuff."

"Oh, that?" Miroku said as he sat back, no longer exuding anxiety, "I thought that was pretty obvious. She does like hitting me."

Inuyasha choked on his sake. "ARRGH! I said I don't wanna know!"

"You brought it up!"

"No, you did, perverse monk! How are you even a monk anyway? You're married!"

"It's good business and it's better than working on the fields all day." Miroku explained, "Besides, you shouldn't be complaining, I provide work for you too."

"If you can call this work, sure." Inuyasha muttered dryly, "These demons are too easy! Most of the time I don't even need to use my sword and it's getting dull from not being used."

"I'm sure a challenge will come soon enough."

The door to the wardrobe closet snapped open and Inuyasha and Miroku stopped their conversation to look at the results of the maids' work and their eyes became like saucers, wide and flabbergasted.

"I feel ridiculous." Daiyu muttered as she stepped over to the two men. Her spider lily kimono glimmered in the candle light as she fidgeted awkwardly. Her raven hair was tied up in an extravagant up do with elaborate combs and flowers, framing her youthful face which was covered in a pale foundation and rouge on her cheeks and lips.

"You look marvelous!" Miroku gleefully cheered. "It's a shame Lord Sesshoumaru couldn't see this!"

"Wow, you can actually look like a normal woman." Inuyasha chuckled and Daiyu fumed at him.

"Alright then, let's get started." Miroku chimed in before the two could start another argument, "The sun is about to set, so let's hurry."

Miroku instructed that Daiyu stay in the room alone while he and Inuyasha will be just outside the door to await the demon's arrival. There was still quite a bit of sake so Daiyu occupied her time by drinking the rest of it and she began to feel light headed and warm while her thoughts drifted to what Miroku had mentioned earlier.

"What does he mean by that?" Daiyu muttered under her breath, her thoughts growing wild at the thought of the women in the village keeping Sesshoumaru 'busy', whatever he meant by that. She snarled with frustration while she bit back the urge to run back to the village. "If that bastard cheats on me, I'm going to fucking castrate him and choke him with it!"

"Daiyu!" She heard Inuyasha whisper coarsely from behind the door outside. "If you don't shut the fuck up, then that demon's never going to show!"

"Yeah, yeah." Daiyu grumbled bitterly.

The room had become very dark once night had fallen, the candle light barely sufficing as the flame flickered weakly, then went out with a gentle breeze that had snaked its way inside. Daiyu became alert as her eyes glowed dimly in the darkness, like a nocturnal predator as she scanned the room but nothing seemed out of ordinary. She sighed heavily, disappointment sinking in before she took another sip of the sake. When she had emptied the cup, a strange scent wafted to her nose, the smell of human blood and incense. She did not move from her lounged position, revealing no sign that she had detected the demon's presence as she poured herself another glass, then drank it down quickly. Her buzz quickly growing stronger.

A sort of dense fog drifted into the room, as the scent of blood grew stronger and Daiyu lightly sneezed into her sleeve.

"In all my life, I never would have thought to behold a beauty as lovely as you." A male voice whispered in the darkness, but Daiyu acted as if she couldn't hear him and she took another sip of the wine.

The figure came closer, his dark silhouette in the darkness would have been completely invisible to human eyes, but Daiyu could see him clearly. He was a snake youkai, Daiyu noted, the smell of lethal poison drifting to her nostrils.

"Greetings fair maiden." The snake purred as he came to kneel very closely in front of her, his hand outstretched to touch her when Daiyu acted quickly. She pulled out a short knife from her sleeve and slashed at the youkai's throat. She managed to deeply scratch him before he leapt out of reach, then a green secretion burst from his mouth and landed Daiyu in the eyes and she yelped loudly in pain. Inuyasha and Miroku burst into the room and Inuyasha dispatched the demon, stabbing him in the chest with Tetsusaiga.

"Ow! Fuck this hurts!" Daiyu yelled as she tried rubbing the poison from her eyes with her kimono, but her eyes became even more enflamed.

"Stop it, you're making it worse!" Miroku exclaimed as he hurried over to a wooden bucket filled with water and threw a hand towel in while Inuyasha checked on Daiyu.

"Ah, crap! Why didn't you dodge?" Inuyasha barked.

"He was too close!" Daiyu was snarling on the floor, "How the hell was I supposed to know he was going to spit at me, anyhow!"

Miroku hustled over to her and laid the bucket on the floor before having her sit up.

"We should wash your face; hopefully most of it will come off." Miroku said and Daiyu dipped her face into the water and began scrubbing off the make up, but the poison refused to lift and the pain worsened.

"Fuck! Fuck! Miroku, I deserve a fucking raise!"

"Let's give her more sake; hopefully it will calm her nerves." Miroku muttered while Inuyasha couldn't help but laugh.

* * *

><p>"Hic!"<p>

"Ah, shit! She's wasted!" Inuyasha exclaimed as he watched Miroku wrap a bandage around her eyes. They had managed to procure some medicine to help combat the poison while Inuyasha kept refilling her cup with sake.

"Well, stop giving it to her then." Miroku muttered as he finished up with the bandages. Daiyu's hair had been let out from its pins and flowed down her back like ink among the silk fabric; a pink glow had arisen on her cheeks while she hiccupped.

"Sesshoumaru's probably going to chew my ass out!" Inuyasha growled, irritable.

"It's fine, she's a demon. She should recover quickly enough."

"But this is going to look bad! He's going to think that we ripped her eyes out or something." Inuyasha was snarling now before taking Daiyu's cup and pouring himself a glass. "God damn it! I told you not to come!"

"I was the one who invited her." Miroku cut in, "If we had used a human woman, she would have been long dead by now."

"Keh!"

After Miroku finished with the bandages, Inuyasha lifted Daiyu onto his back and they exited the room to collect their money. Miroku had brought a horse and wagon to be used to carry the fruits of their labor back to the village and the servants of the castle had overflowed it with trunks of clothing, food, wine and money. Inuyasha stood next to it, Daiyu was half asleep on his back, still wearing the expensive kimono and bandages over her eyes and Inuyasha wondered if she had passed out already.

"Thank you for a job well done." The lord said and Miroku bowed humbly in front of him to hide his expression of victory for having been paid handsomely. "Is the woman going to be alright? Perhaps you should stay here until she heals."

"That won't be necessary." Miroku said, "Being a demon, she will heal quite quickly. Besides, I promised her husband to bring her home quickly enough."

"She has a husband?"

"In a sense." Miroku chuckled.

"To the half-demon?"

"No, that's her brother-in-law."

"Ah, well." The lord conceded, "It is getting quite late, do have a safe journey home, then."

"Thank you, my lord." Miroku bowed again before awaiting the lord to leave and then walked over to Inuyasha and Daiyu.

"What took you so long?" Inuyasha muttered, as he readjusted Daiyu on his back to keep her from slipping.

"The lord was quite curious about our lady friend." Miroku chimed nonchalantly before grabbing a hold of the horse's reins.

"Sheesh, can't take this dumb broad anywhere." Inuyasha quipped when suddenly a heavy smack came to the back of his head. "Oi! Bitch, don't hit the one who's carrying your useless ass!"

"You're the useless one! You hardly helped at all!"

"I killed him didn't I?"

"From behind after I attacked him!" Daiyu snapped in retort.

"Do you two always have to argue?" Miroku sighed heavily with dejection. "If you two tried getting along, you'll find that the two of you are similar in nature."

"Huh?" Inuyasha and Daiyu both cut in and the half-demon glared at her from over his shoulder, which she would have returned if she wasn't blinded by the bandages.

"Hell if we're similar, I don't run around like a bitch in heat!"

"You mother fucker!" Daiyu snarled before choking him from behind and Miroku couldn't help but laugh at the scene.

* * *

><p>They returned to the village just after midnight and Sesshoumaru awaited their arrival on the trail; a beacon of white in the darkness.<p>

"Greetings!" Miroku chimed. "Did you wait long?"

"What has happened?" Sesshoumaru stolidly cut in and Inuyasha groaned. Daiyu had been sleeping on his back the entire journey, talking nonsense in her sleep about castration, followed by various cuss words and Inuyasha was more than anxious to be rid of her. At the sound of Sesshoumaru's voice, however, she seemed to come out of her heavy sleep and she leaned over Inuyasha's shoulder. Still quite drunk, she had her arms over his shoulders lazily and Inuyasha noticed Sesshoumaru begin to snarl, his aura growing dark at seeing his intended mate curled around his half-brother, blinded and inebriated.

"It's not my fault, I swear!" Inuyasha bit out.

"-Maru, baby!" Daiyu hiccupped and Sesshoumaru's brow rose, startled out of his growl. He collected Daiyu from Inuyasha and she wrapped her arms around his neck from her perched position against his chest. Sesshoumaru was about to excuse them from Inuyasha and Miroku, desiring greatly to assess her injuries, when she yanked on his pointed ear with her fingers.

"You haven't been cheating on me have you?" She snarled and Sesshoumaru's brows furrowed, a look of confusion crossing his features before he glanced to Inuyasha and Miroku for an explanation but they shrugged. "Who did you do it with? I'll rip that bitch's throat out! That is after I rip your balls off!"

Sesshoumaru couldn't contain a chuckle at her outburst before regarding Miroku.

"We will collect her portion tomorrow." Sesshoumaru said, excusing them for the night, before he turned on his heel and began carrying Daiyu to the forest.

Not long afterward, Sesshoumaru set Daiyu beside a river and sat next to her and began pulling away the bandages over her eyes. There was still a green substance that tinted Daiyu's skin, her eyes greatly enflamed and he frowned at the sight.

"A snake demon's venom?" Sesshoumaru asked, but Daiyu was not listening.

"Tell me truthfully, you horny dog!" She seethed, "How many women did you do it with?"

"In my life?"

Daiyu nodded with eyes unseeing.

"I can't recall."

Daiyu's aura spiked as she began smacking him incessantly.

"You're the worst!" She growled, "How many did you do it with after I promised myself to you?"

"Do you really want to know?" Sesshoumaru asked, his tone entirely serious and Daiyu became quiet. She felt a pang in her chest at his words and she leaned away from him, her thoughts weighing heavily in her mind. Should she know? It has been a century since their engagement, so there would have been plenty of opportunities for Sesshoumaru to cheat on her. She was only a cub at the time, anyhow. The thought of him with another woman pained her greatly and she hadn't even gotten that far with him yet. Their passionate displays only going as far as touching before some sort of disturbance would begrudgingly keep them from continuing.

She couldn't fathom if it was truly her emotions or the affects of having too much alcohol, but tears began running down her cheeks. The faint sounds of her cries came to both their ears with equal shock and Daiyu quickly turned away from him.

"Sorry, I just drank too much." Daiyu muttered as she tried to wipe the moisture from her cheeks with her sleeve, but flinched as she accidentally rubbed at her eyes. "Besides, I forget that wolves and dogs are different."

How could she have been so naïve? The only one whom would be monogamous in this relationship would be her. Dogs took several mates within one life span; Inuyasha's existence was a prime example of that truth. Wolves mated once for a life time, sometimes not even taking a mate if they didn't find someone which suited them or their pack and she had unknowingly done so as a child. How foolish!

Why did her parents choose him of all possible suitors? Why did they set her up for heartbreak?

"Daiyu?" Sesshoumaru whispered from behind her, but she did not address him. She was trying to muffle the sounds of her cries by covering her face with her sleeves when Sesshoumaru's arms snaked around her shoulders. He pulled her into him, setting her onto his crossed legs with her back against his chest as his chin rested against her right shoulder. The moment she was held, she began to sob with less restraint while he waited silently with his heart beat pounding into her back. A reminder that his heart will never truly belong to her and the force of this realization was ripping into her chest, as if in attempt to gut out her very soul.

"You love me, don't you?" Sesshoumaru's voice whispered into her ear and she shuddered. His arms held her more firmly against his chest, his question still hanging in the air like a hovering cloud, but she could not answer. She couldn't bring herself to say it aloud, especially when such a thing would be nothing more than an unrequited dream.

"Lie down, I will heal you." Sesshoumaru eventually broke the silence, seeing as how she was not going to answer and he had her lie on her back on the ground. He hovered over her, his breath tickling her moist cheeks as he licked her closed eyes. She smelt his poisonous glands emitting from his breath and she startled, but he held her firm.

"It is best to combat poison with poison." Sesshoumaru murmured before continuing.

When the green tint had faded from her skin and she could begin to feel herself rejuvenating, he lifted his face from hers, his fingers tracing the sides of her cheeks to brush the long bangs that framed her cheekbones and she watched him with saddened eyes. The redness already began to subside around her silver irises, but became misty with more unshed tears as she stared deeply into his golden hues.

"I can't be with you."


	7. Iron

"_I can't be with you."_

Daiyu had said those words without thought, a mistake she came to regret. Sesshoumaru's astonished visage branded in the back of her mind and, try as she might, she couldn't shake the image off. However, she would not deny the feeling of betrayal that began to churn in her soul.

After that emotional statement, Daiyu became fearful of his response, so much so that she fled from him to hide in her room at Inuyasha's house. To her surprise and disappointment, Sesshoumaru did not follow her and she was left alone for the entire night. Not even Kagome dared to enter her room.

When the sun began to rise from the east, signifying a new day, Daiyu finally opened her door. Inuyasha looked up from his bowl of food that he was wolfing down, regarding her with understated concern.

"Did you two have a fight or something?" Inuyasha bluntly asked.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome exclaimed before smacking him in the back of the head, she then looked to Daiyu with a warm smile. "Would you like some breakfast?"

"No, I'm fine. Thank you." Daiyu's voice was weary, her silver eyes dimming to a dull grey as she shut her bedroom door then walked up to Inuyasha. "Where can I collect my payment? Do you know if Miroku divided up everything yet?"

"Yeah, I think he's going through it today." Inuyasha said before finishing off his breakfast. "Wait, I need to go too."

"Alright."

Daiyu waited as he gulped down his tea and Kagome began cleaning up. Daiyu slipped on her shoes and Inuyasha followed her out the door.

"Ya wanna tell me what's up with you?" Inuyasha asked, "You seemed your usual bitchy self until late last night."

"I don't feel like talking about it." Daiyu bit out, "You're a dog, you wouldn't understand."

Inuyasha huffed, but didn't pester her further as they walked down the dirt path to Miroku and Sango's house. Inuyasha stepped through the door first and Daiyu watched as the hanyou was instantly attacked by familiar twin little girls.

"Doggy! Doggy!" They cheered and Inuyasha picked them up with one girl in each arm.

"Oi, I got a name you know!" He exclaimed and the girls giggled before grabbing a hold of his triangle shaped ears. "Ow!"

"Momoko! Sachiko! How many times do I have to tell you? Not the ears, Ok?" Miroku chided as he looked up from his seat on the floor, having his morning tea with Sango, whom was bouncing a baby on her back. At the sight of Daiyu, Sango gave her a welcoming smile.

"Oh, how are you Daiyu? I heard you got injured last night."

"I am fine now, thanks." Daiyu said, her mood instantly darkening at the thought of how she had gotten off the poison from her eyes and Sango and Miroku noticed she was not her usual energetic self. They looked to Inuyasha but he shrugged, equally confused.

"Well, let's take a closer look at the goods, shall we?" Miroku said cheerfully in attempt to lighten the atmosphere. He led them to the back room and kneeled before a straw mat and lifted it up, revealing a hidden cellar in the wooden floor.

"We got quite a load yesterday, I could hardly fit everything in here, but it's better than leaving it out in the cart." Miroku said as he pulled open the door, revealing an underground room. The three of them walked down the steps and toward three large chests and half a dozen barrels of rice. "I've already sorted it out."

"Thanks, Miroku." Inuyasha said before flipping open one of the chests. "There's enough here to feed the whole village!"

"Looks that way." Miroku said, "Sango and I plan on using some of this to pay for additional rooms to this house."

"I think I might do the same." Inuyasha muttered and Miroku's eyes glinted mischievously.

"Have you and the wifey been getting it on enough to be expecting a new arrival?" Miroku chuckled and Inuyasha's face began to match the hue of his haori and Daiyu smirked.

"You two have been rather loud lately." Daiyu snidely remarked, her smirk deepening and Inuyasha glared at her.

"Ah, shut up, will ya!" Inuyasha seethed, "It's **my **house! I can do whatever the hell I want!"

Daiyu chuckled, her overall dark mood lightening a bit as she opened her trunk and assessed the goods. There were a couple of women's kimonos, a jar of salt, some combs made of ivory, hairpins and a leather satchel with a significant amount of money inside. She took several coins from the bag and pocketed it in her sleeve before closing the lid.

"You guys can have my rice barrels. I don't typically eat that stuff." Daiyu said as she stood up from her kneeled position. "And some of the kimonos."

"Would you like something else then?" Miroku asked, referring to probably more girlish things that the castle had in stock for the mistresses of the castle, the ones killed by the snake demon.

"That's alright, give them to Sango. She would like them, I'm sure." Daiyu said, "I need clothes that are a bit more suitable for fighting. She can even take that kimono I wore yesterday."

"Are you sure? That's a bit generous." Miroku said and Daiyu gave him a smug look.

"What are you insinuating, perverted monk?" She teased, "Do you think I am incapable of kindness?"

"Uh, no, but-"

"Don't worry." She sighed, then pointed to her trunk, "If it will make you feel better, how about you buy the damn things off of me? I'll give them to you for a quarter of the price."

Miroku debated this for a moment, calculating the amount that Daiyu was offering, and then directed his attention back to her.

"How about an eighth of the price?"

"If it's too much then why didn't you take it for free?" Daiyu exasperated, becoming agitated by the monk's arbitrary thinking. "Jeez!"

The monk gave her some coins and Daiyu pocketed it with the rest of the stash hidden in her kimono.

"I don't have anywhere to keep this stuff, so would you mind keeping it here for a while?" Daiyu then asked the monk and she noticed his eyes widen.

"Is Lady Daiyu not going to live with-"

"Just for a while." Daiyu cut in, not wanting to hear Sesshoumaru's name at the moment, "At least until I settle somewhere."

There was a pause between the three of them as Inuyasha and Miroku glanced at each other, both wondering what was going through her head at the moment. Inuyasha's brows furrowed across his forehead in contemplation while he studied her.

"Ah, yes, that's fine with me." Miroku obliged, "But may I ask if you have anywhere in mind?"

"I plan on looking around the area. There should be somewhere in the forest that will suit me fine."

"Like in a cave?" Inuyasha asked dryly.

"Yeah! Do you know if there's one nearby?" Daiyu asked far too enthusiastically compared to Inuyasha's tone.

"A young woman shouldn't be living by herself in the wilderness!" Miroku exclaimed.

"I'm a demon remember? It's a bit different than having a human woman living on her own."

At her words, Inuyasha's face hardened.

"But what about Sessh-!"

"I can't rely on him!" Daiyu exasperated loudly and the two men were aghast. There was a long silence that followed as Daiyu shifted uncomfortably. The sounds of laughter from Momoko and Sachiko, followed by Sango's voice as she scolded them for the noise, could be heard from the hidden underground room where they stood when Inuyasha suddenly broke the atmosphere with a heavy sigh. He scratched at the back of his head, this habit that Daiyu noticed he had whenever he had to deal with any sort of awkward situation.

"Well, whatever. Let's just get out of this stuffy cellar." He muttered and Daiyu nodded in agreement, her long bangs shadowing over her eyes as she followed Inuyasha and Miroku out.

* * *

><p>The old blacksmith by the main road looked like he had trekked over Mount Fuji and back with his oily grey hair and dirt crusted skin. A strong dose of body odor spewed from his pores and Daiyu felt like she was going to vomit from its intensity as she waited outside. He was currently working on a commission paid by her, the sounds of clanking iron and steel piercing her ears to the brink of making her eardrums bleed and she growled loudly.<p>

"How long are you going to dick around in there, old man?"

The clanking continued, "Shit, he's probably gone deaf." she grumbled before resting her head on her palm, her elbow bent into her knee as she sat cross legged on the ground. She was wearing new clothes which included a dark blue sleeveless haori jacket, black obi, black stockings that came up to mid thigh and black leather jika tabi boots.

"Hey, is that a Kunoichi?" Some young boys whispered amongst themselves from across the dirt road. Her clothing was quite revealing for a woman and the villagers gawked at her but she ignored them. She was chewing on a piece of dried venison jerky when the clanking stopped, followed shortly by the hissing of hot metal being dipped into ice water.

"Alright, demon." The old man hollered louder than was necessary and Daiyu flinched but said nothing. She hopped up onto her feet and entered the workshop, her teeth gnawing at the jerky as she assessed the armor he had made for her.

"Pair of forearm and shin guards, correct?" He asked bitterly, he was not pleased in the least for having to work for not only a demon but a woman. Just hours prior, he had demanded double the amount for the work, but Daiyu was much too sharp with him and she managed to drop the price down to a considerable amount. However, both the artisan and the client were equally restless to be rid of the other.

"Here, you have to wear these underneath the arm guards." The blacksmith grumbled before tossing a pair of black arm sleeves and she let the jerky hang from her teeth as she slipped them on and secured it by tying the small strings around her middle fingers. She stretched the skin tight material up to the middle of her upper arms while the old man did the last modifications on the iron armor and then handed them to her. Daiyu strapped in the armor that covered from her wrists, across her lower arms to curve around her elbows, and then snatched the shin guards. As she was securing the plates, the old man plopped down wearily onto the floor and scratched at his flaky beard. Daiyu straightened up and felt the metal against her palms before taking out the jerky from her mouth.

"Not bad." She muttered, tossing several coins onto the floor in front of him, "Go buy some bath salts, you smell like shit."

The old man merely waved his middle finger at her in reply before she stepped out.

With one hand on her hip and the other holding the jerky to her mouth, she gazed at the human village with a scrutinizing glare, wondering what on earth she was going to do now that she had gotten all that she needed. After gathering some of her funds from Miroku, she had bought only the clothes and the armor, feeling that she needed something that provided mobility and some protection whenever the need arose. Following after the need for new attire, came the necessity for shelter and she remembered Inuyasha mentioning a cave somewhere nearby, but he did not go into details. He seemed a bit hesitant to help her in that regard and she wondered why. She couldn't hole up at his place for the rest of her life, that would be too meddlesome for all three of them, she was certain of that.

She wondered vaguely where Sesshoumaru usually slept, but she quickly shook that thought out of her head.

"That damn dog could sleep in a pig's pin for all I care." She grumbled quietly between her clenched teeth and jerky.

"You wouldn't happen to be talking about me would you?" A deep voice came from behind her and alarm bells rung off in her head before she whipped around, her eyes seething at the tall youkai.

"Damn it! Don't sneak up on me like that!" She shouted and he smirked coyly down at her. Villagers were scattering away at his presence, recognizing him instantly as a demon. She wondered why he even bothered with a human form; he stuck out like a white sheep among a black herd. "What do you want?"

Her question seemed to throw him off a bit as he wasn't as quick to respond as he usually did and he studied her a moment.

"Am I not entitled to know what my woman is doing?" He answered, though his demeanor took a sarcastically playful personage. "I see you have new clothes. If you can call it that."

Her habit was to always quip back when being insulted, but she held her tongue and spun on her heel and began stomping towards the forest. She decided to put more of her energy towards finding a place to sleep tonight over a potential fight with the taiyoukai. Much to her bemusement, however, she could hear his light steps following quickly behind her and she bit back a snarl.

"Go somewhere else!" She yelled as she quickened her steps. "I'm in no mood to deal with you!"

She was suddenly slammed against the nearest tree trunk, the bark digging into her back as he suddenly loomed over her. His eyes were glowing, but did not bleed over, as he brought his hand to rest against the wood just above her head, taking on a position of intimidation. Daiyu did not cower but met his intense gaze with a glare, her own eyes glowing with animosity. She quickly felt their auras crackle against each other like invisible tendrils wrestling for dominance.

"Why are you angry?" His tone was stolid. The jerky was long lost and her teeth grinded together; pearly fangs gleaming in the sunlight between full lips, followed by flushed cheeks.

"That's a ridiculous question." She bit out and his white brows furrowed deeply and his face hardened.

"Is this about the same thing as last night?"

"Didn't you hear what I said?" Her eyes were becoming misty once more, but she refused to cry. "'I can't be with you!'"

"That wasn't the sake talking?"

"I hate you!" She exasperated, she tried shoving herself from beneath his hovering, but he was unyielding.

"You're being childish." He stated more calmly, though his aura felt like it was burning against her skin. "You're angry about nothing."

"Oh! Is that how it is? Cheating on me amounts to nothing!"

"What makes you think that I cheated on you?"

She could hardly contain her urge to scream out of frustration.

"You've fucking lost it if you think that sleeping with-!" She brought her hand to her forehead and took a rough inhale, "You know what? I shouldn't have to explain this to you! I'm done!"

"I'm not!"

"Too fucking bad!" She managed to slip away from him this time, or he let her go, she wasn't sure, but she began walking away from him. She heard his footsteps continue to follow her and she attempted to ignore him as she took out another slice of jerky and began eating it slowly, her thoughts running wild.

"_What makes you think that I cheated on you?"_

Why would he say that? She knew not how old Sesshoumaru was but even a child could comprehend the logic behind her anguish.

Was there a misunderstanding?

Daiyu's thoughts made her halt entirely, her eyes staring down at the ground and his footsteps came closer to her. When he stopped just behind her, she turned around and took the jerky from her mouth before giving him a suspicious glare. His demeanor was that of curiosity, but also irritation as he towered over her. Her height barely reaching his chin and she had to crane her neck to look at him as he raised a brow inquisitively.

"What you said earlier, what did you mean?" Daiyu asked with hesitation in her voice.

"Perhaps if you answered the question, then I may be able to enlighten you." His voice was suddenly cold and she averted her gaze from him to look down at the ground. She took in a deep inhale before letting out her question with a shaky breath.

"What were you doing when I was with Inuyasha and Miroku?"

"Hunting."

Daiyu's brow twitched, she crossed her arms over her chest as her glare sharpened at him.

"Hunting? Really?" Daiyu gnarled, "Then I guess Miroku telling me that you were busy with the village women was a lie?"

"Is that how he phrased it?" Sesshoumaru's visage became that of agitation and Daiyu wondered if she had just inadvertently signed the monk's death warrant. "Inuyasha's woman told me that Rin was becoming ill and needed a certain recipe that only Inuyasha and I know of. Being with him yourself, you should know that I was the only one available."

"I've heard of this Rin person before, who is she?"

"My human ward."

"As in…adopted daughter?"

"Hn."

"Why didn't you tell me about that?" Daiyu growled with frustration, but Sesshoumaru was quiet and she didn't pester him further about Rin, which would direct their conversation off topic. "Alright, then…have you been with any women since I came here?"

She could tell by the expression on his features that he was not pleased about this interrogation.

"Daiyu-"

"I have to know!" She exclaimed, her face becoming flushed and her voice shook with unease. She continued to avert her eyes from him and he sighed.

"I occasionally sleep with an inuyoukai courtesan." Sesshoumaru honestly said, "However, that sort of relationship ended as soon as I collected you in Hokkaido."

Daiyu took a moment to digest this information; she wasn't sure as to how to respond or how to feel.

"Once we are mated and have children…" Daiyu murmured, "Are you still going to see her?"

"Are you concerned that I will not be truly monogamous?" He asked and she nodded slowly. Suddenly, she felt his hand resting on the top of her head, his fingers intertwining and rustling her hair then ran down the back of her neck to slide ever downward until he pressed his palm into the small of her back, pressing her into him. She complied half-heartedly, standing with her arms limp at her sides and her cheek brushed the silk of his haori. "If I didn't want to be monogamous, I wouldn't have chosen a wolf."

Daiyu was not fully convinced, but she did not protest against him as he tilted her head up to his and kissed her with more emotion than she had ever previously felt from him. His hands did not roam over her body but stayed in place, heating her neck and back with his skin and as he deepened the kiss she couldn't help thinking, 'he kisses me as though he loves me.'


	8. Brethren

The water's current felt cool against her legs and arms, the ripples curling between her fingers and toes and creating a soothing sensation of refreshment on her skin with the sun hot across her back. She had taken off everything except the haori jacket and obi as she hunched over in the village river, her hands hovering in the water in a poised position. There was a splash, followed quickly by her suddenly piercing through the water's current to catch the slippery silver creatures before throwing them over her shoulder to land on the shore with rapid repetition. After a good long minute, she had a dozen large fish splashing on the dry rocks.

"Wow!" The twin girls, Momoko and Sachiko, applauded energetically. They had been watching the entire time on the shore and, not long after Daiyu began making the fish pile with inhuman speed, many of the other children from the village were drawn over.

"So cool!" A boy appearing around seven in human years exclaimed with large brown eyes, "What else can you do?"

Daiyu was stepping out of the water and killed the fish with a quick swipe of her talon like nails before throwing them into a straw basket. Once the boy had asked her that question, she raised a brow at him and put her hands on her hips.

"What exactly do you have in mind, eh?" She asked, somewhat amused by these little creatures. She never had much experience around human children except for the twins. She wouldn't mind sating their curiosity of her for the time being.

She was quite bored.

"How far can you kick this?" The boy asked, he was holding a worn kemari ball in his small hands and the she-wolf noticed the calluses and cuts on his skin from working long hours in the field. She hesitated a moment, her eyes glancing at the other children's hands and she felt pity, but did not portray that in her expression. The life of a human peasant must be a hard one, to say the least.

"You want me to kick this?" Daiyu asked as she tossed the ball up and down in her hand.

"Yeah! As hard as you can!"

The children were awaiting her anxiously, their eyes bright with excitement and awe, and Daiyu scratched at the back of her head. Their adorable pleading expressions making her cave in.

"Alright, here it goes!" Daiyu took a step away from them and faced the open field, where, she hoped, no matter how far it went she wouldn't lose sight of it. With a fluent kick, the ball sky rocketed into the sky.

"Wow!" The children gawked as they all watched the ball to see how far it would land. It sailed across the rice fields and towards the hill and landed, much to the children's amazement, into the forest canopies about two miles away.

"Sister can really kick!" Momoko and Sachiko chimed.

"Yeah, but now we don't have a ball." There was suddenly an atmosphere of depression arising amongst the kids and Daiyu gave an uneasy laugh.

"Well, you did ask me to kick it as hard as I can." Daiyu muttered before noting that the littlest ones began to cry and she gave an uneasy smile, "It's ok, I can go get it back in no time! Just give me a moment to…"

Daiyu quickly slipped on the rest of her clothes, "Ok, wait here!"

The she-wolf took off, leaping with finesse over the rice fields and quickly into the forest trees preceding it. She leapt from the base of a giant tree, bursting upward to then weave through the branches to then stop at the top of the tree where the ball had gotten stuck. She reached out her hand and grasped onto the leathery material then hooked it securely into her arm. Daiyu dropped down from the tree and landed in a crouch on the earth floor, landing weightlessly despite the massive drop.

Seconds later, she had crossed the two miles to stop in front of the children and she was greeted with flabbergasted expressions.

"Here you are." Daiyu smiled as she handed the ball back to the boy whom had handed it to her earlier, the second the ball rested into his hands his eyes sparkled.

"You're amazing sister!" His outburst shocking Daiyu and she made a short laugh.

"Is that so?" She chuckled, ruffling the top of his head.

"How old are you?"

"Uh, one hundred and twenty-"

"Why are your ears and eyes funny?"

"Are you related to those white haired guys?"

"Are you a spirit?"

Daiyu was suddenly overloaded with questions, shocking her greatly that children asked this much, within so little time and so randomly. Momoko and Sachiko suddenly latched onto her legs and glared at the other children.

"This is our sister!" Momoko stated, followed by Sachiko saying, "Go find some other sisters to play with!"

"Uh, kids…" Daiyu was not quite sure how to negate the situation to where the children would settle down when her senses picked up something in the wind. The scents were definitely familiar and somewhat unwelcome, but she mainly felt agitation begin to dwell and the twins looked up at her curiously, noticing her stiffen.

"What's-?" Sachiko was about to ask when the sounds of four legged animals sprinting came even to their human ears and all of the children whipped their heads around to find fifteen brown wolf youkai coming to stand before them.

"Hey there, babe!" One of the wolves exclaimed and she seethed at them, her light expression becoming sour, among the wolves were the two that were responsible for the fight on the last full moon just weeks prior.

"What do you guys want?" Daiyu asked dryly as she stepped in front of the children, taking on a protective stance as she stood with her arms crossed over her chest and feet shoulder width apart. "Didn't take enough of a beating last time?"

"No, no." Kazuo was raising his hands up, gesturing for peace and Daiyu's glare hardened. "We were just checking on our foreign sister, is all."

Kazuo was giving her a long evaluation with his gaze and the children huddled behind her.

"It seems that you are not mated, I see no mark on you-"

"That's none of your business, lowlife!" Daiyu growled, "Besides, I would never take a weak demon like yourself, you bring shame to all wolves with just your odor alone."

Suddenly the wolves leapt over to her and sat at her feet, their tails wagging merrily and Daiyu took a step back, bewildered by their overly attentive gaze.

"Come on, sister, don't be so cruel!" A wolf whined and it was then that Daiyu noticed that they were being submissive; however, she did not relax, her silver eyes studying them suspiciously.

"What are you guys going on about?" Daiyu muttered. "I'm not a part of your pack; go on before you cause a bigger ruckus!"

"How come sis is by herself? Where's that dog?" A teenaged wolf asked her and her brow twitched.

"He's running an errand, but should be back soon." Daiyu crisped, "Now, can you guys leave? I have better things to do than answer your stupid questions."

She motioned for the children to leave and they complied, albeit half heartedly. The last with her were Momoko and Sachiko, but they seemed diligent to stay with her. Daiyu sighed heavily, why were these girls so clingy? They did the same to Inuyasha for a time and now they seemed to have directed their attention to her, much to her dismay. This was not a good time for them to hang on her constantly.

Daiyu huffed irritably as she came to kneel with her back to the girls and gestured for them to get on and they squealed merrily.

"Come on, girls. I'll drop you off at your house." Daiyu murmured and she began to walk towards Sango and Miroku's house when she noticed that the wolves were following her.

"Hey! Get lost! I've had it!" She snarled, her eyes flashing but the tails continued to wag gaily in the air.

"But you smell so good, ne-chan!"

"Don't call me that!"

She leapt quickly over the village and the girls screamed with excitement while Daiyu nearly lost her balance from the screeching to her ears. The wolves followed her and as Daiyu saw Sango sitting with the baby, Miroku, Kagome and Inuyasha, she landed and dropped off the girls.

They turned towards her with wide eyes.

"What's goi-" Kagome was about to ask, but Daiyu leapt up.

"Sorry, no time!" Daiyu hollered before taking off, an entire pack of wolves chasing behind her and Inuyasha growled.

"What the hell is up with them?" He exasperated loudly over the cacophony of whining wolves as they sped through, leaving a gale of dust behind them.

"Is she going to be alright." Kagome asked Inuyasha.

"Keh." Inuyasha grumbled. "She'll be alright. I'd be more worried about the wolves."

Daiyu slowed down to a steady walk once she had made quite a distance away from the village and the wolves quickly caught up with her, their desperate whines filling up her ears and giving her a migraine.

"You dumb asses don't have anything else better to do?" Daiyu groaned. "My lunch has been ruined! The village kids probably took all of my fish by now."

"We can bring you something!" A wolf happily offered.

"I don't want it." She quipped back and the wolf made a sad whimper.

"Come on, sister, let's go hunting! It'll be fun!" They carped and Daiyu gave them a death glare.

"Do you wanna die?" She snarled loudly, about ready to unsheathe her sword. "Get lost! I have shit to do!"

"What do you need to do? We can provide assistance." Another wolf added and she moaned in frustration as she massaged her forehead with her hand.

"This is gonna be a shitty day." She muttered under her breath before stomping off, a sea of brown fur following after her.

* * *

><p>For the remainder of the day, the wolves kept a close pace behind her and she desperately wanted some peace and solace…followed by a bath, which was impossible with these relentless beasts. Once night had fallen, she had lost her last nerve and tried to speed away from them, morphing into a blue orb and taking off across the sky. A power that neither of the brown wolves possessed which allowed her to gain quite a distance from them.<p>

When the almost full moon stretched high into the sky, she was bathing in a hot spring that she had come across after her escape. She relished in the warmth of the water and dipped her head back, soaking her hair into the mineral water as she glanced up at the sky. A large, pent up tension releasing from her with a long exhale. The stars winked down at her as the gentle sounds of the wind brushing against the leaves soothed her frazzled nerves.

"Ah, I would kill for a good bottle of sake…" Daiyu breathed, "And some meat."

"Sister!" At the sound of the wolves Daiyu was thrown out of her tranquil bath and she screamed in fright, something she never did.

"W-what the hell!" She gasped as she covered her exposed breasts with her arms and dropped down in the water until it was up to her chin, her flushed face peeking over the water at the intruders and her aura spiked with animosity. The wolves came to hover on one side of the hot spring, panting from excitement.

"Can we join you?"

"Fuck no! Get the hell away from me!" She screamed, "I'm calling my mate and if you're not gone by the time he shows up you'll really regret fucking with me!"

"Aw, don't do that!" A wolf whined, "Look, we even brought some food and we can get some sake too!"

There was a moment of silence as only the sounds of the wind whistled through the trees as the she-wolf glared at them in the water, her darkening aura licking across the water like the hands of death reaching out to them

"I'm gonna tear you a new asshole!" She roared, followed by an explosion of black mist, engulfing the forest into darkness that even the youkai could not see through. Daiyu slipped on just the haori jacket and made a quick sash out of the black silk that was used for her obi before turning her attention to the wolves.

By the time the black mist evaporated, the wolves were beaten black and blue, many missing their front teeth with dislocated arms and they groaned loudly in pain.

"It was…so worth it." The teenaged wolf grumbled, though he could not contain his tears.

* * *

><p>In the afternoon of the following day, the pack returned, already fully rejuvenated, and came running over to the base of the closest mountain to the human village. The location served as Daiyu's new, debatably temporary, home; Sesshoumaru was not pleased about the location, but she had put up quite a fight to keep the settlement. She had used a lot of the money she had earned from the job with Miroku and Inuyasha to construct the cave into a partial house with tatami mat flooring, wooden walls, a fire pit and a large enough door to cover the mouth of the cave, which she hardly ever closed, preferring to have a constant draft through her little home. Her old home in China was similar in idea to this, however, the cave was many times larger; enough to fit an entire castle.<p>

When she caught sight of the wolves running towards her, she was sitting against the wooden frame of her door, legs crossed and a small strip of salmon jerky between her teeth as she gripped a large wood carving knife and a hollowed bamboo shoot. She was trimming the ends with her knife with a quick chop as the wolves came to stop before her. She looked up from the bamboo with a bemused expression.

"You guys are the dumbest creatures on earth." She muttered between her clenched teeth, then continued with chopping at the bamboo. She had noticed that they had brought a load of supplies with them, all wrapped in furs to protect the various objects inside for the journey there, but she chose not to comment about it.

"We brought gifts as an apology for yesterday." Ginji had stated and the wolves began revealing the offerings from underneath the fur pelts to be set before Daiyu. She continued with chopping, not even taking a moment to gander at the kimonos, jewelry, paintings and pottery pieces. "We have sake as well. Let us celebrate the joining of our new sister."

The wolves didn't let her silent rejection hinder them as they brought forth a barrel of sake and began to drink around her in attempt to build a merry atmosphere. Daiyu kept to her work, shaping the bamboo pieces with various sizes of knives and the younger wolves came over to watch her curiously.

"What are you making, sis?" A pre-teen wolf asked, his eyes wide with fascination and Daiyu glanced at him, then continued working.

"Making a flute." She murmured.

"Wow, you know how to make one?"

"Nope, just winging it." She replied, she set down the knife and analyzed her work, then put the mouth piece to her lips to test out the sound, but only the sound of air blowing came forth from the hollow wood. She sighed and tossed the bamboo off to the side, landing on a pile of cut up wood chippings before picking up another shoot and began working on another.

The wolves were chatting merrily, already quite buzzed, and Daiyu felt a headache arise.

"Why are you dip shits drinking in the middle of the day?" Daiyu finally snapped, "And in front of my house?"

The wolves looked over to her, their faces quite rosy from the alcohol and their fangs glinting in the sunlight, smiling stupidly.

"Come on, sister. Have some fun! We promise not to bug you too much."

Daiyu sighed heavily, feeling a bit of dejection and she rubbed her palm against her forehead in attempt to ease the ache in her head. "I'm gonna go crazy." She muttered with an exhale.

Her ear twitched at a certain sound that suddenly whispered faintly in the air, her nostrils flaring as she sniffed and her eyes looked around suspiciously. Her eyes finally caught sight of the intruder within the trees and she quickly threw her largest knife at it and a yowl came from the tree tops, followed by the sound of something flailing about in the trees and Daiyu snapped up onto her feet, her eyes a glow. She watched as the dark creature suddenly dropped onto the ground with a thud, appearing dead.

"What was that?" The wolves asked curiously, their merriment coming to an immediate halt. Daiyu did not answer as she walked over to a small black figure that had landed on the ground, something similar to a bird with its raven wings and she kicked it over on its side.

"A crow youkai." Daiyu muttered as she kneeled in front and gave it an inspection. It did not take long for her to find something noteworthy about the demon and her eyes widened. Across the breast of the bird was a burn mark in the shape of a Chinese seal, the seal itself brought a darkness in her demeanor and a deep frown crossed her lips.

"A spy of Tingfeng..." She whispered, her knife was imbedded in its stomach and she ripped it out, the stench of blood filling her nostrils as she cut the youkai's head off as extra precaution then tossed the bird at the wolves behind her.

"Lunch." She said, her tone cold.

"Uh, sure." One of the wolves stated uneasily. They were all staring at Daiyu, wondering what had caused her sudden mood change as she came to sit back down in her spot. She picked up on the make-shift flute, about to continue with its design, when she looked up at them, her eyes sharp.

"What's with the sudden atmosphere? Go on, eat the damn thing and carry on." She muttered, her mood lightening a bit and the wolves looked at each other in confusion. Kazuo made a shrug and they continued their little party, soon breaking into laughter, and after a while, Daiyu smirked at their silly nature. Her thoughts reminiscent of the days when she would train with her father's soldiers atop the mountains of Northern China. They also called her sister despite her position as princess and, in many ways, she was exactly that. She missed her brethren, along with every aspect of her life back in those vast, evergreen mountains; however, no matter how annoying these brown wolves can be, she felt the pang of sadness lighten as she watched them laugh and tease one another.

_Perhaps I should be a bit nicer to them, _she thought.

"Hey, sis! Can we see your breasts again?"

The wolf was answered with a large rock thrown into his head.

_Or not…_


	9. Yin & Yang

The wolves had left by sun down, leaving Daiyu to herself in her home when the rain began to fall heavily. She had just finished with stacking her gifts from the wolf pack in the corner of the spare room in the far back of the cave before walking to the front room and started a fire in the pit. She began heating up the tea kettle when she sensed a visitor, but did not move from her spot. It wasn't long until footsteps were heard and she peered up from her crouched position to regard the person and smiled. Sesshoumaru stood, completely drenched at her door step, appearing quite displeased.

"There have been wolves here." He remarked, his tone ice cold.

"There was nothing I could do about it." Daiyu replied with a weary sigh. She was still crouching before the fire; the flames warm against her skin as she put the kettle onto a hook to sit over the fire, then fanned the flames, coaxing it to grow hotter. Sesshoumaru shook off the water before stepping into the house and he slipped off his boots. He quickly dispatched his armor, dropping it against the wall, followed by his swords, before he sat next to Daiyu. She paused in fanning the fire to sniff him and his brow rose inquisitively.

"Just checking." She said, a coy smirk on her lips and Sesshoumaru regarded her coldly.

"Will you always smell me for strange women every time I come back from a trip?" He asked stolidly and she turned back to the fire, waving the fan within her feminine hand.

"You know it!" She retorted in a playful manner. He leaned towards her, his fingers brushing her exposed thigh and she hissed. "Oi!"

"Perhaps I should do the same." his tone darkening and she suddenly found herself on her back with him over the top of her, his knee between her legs and his large hands holding her wrists above her head, pinning her down as his breath tickled her neck.

"I come home to find this place covered in the scent of those wolves and you dare question my loyalty."

"W-what?" Her voice was shaking with anxiety and she felt incredibly small beneath his much larger frame. "Why are you giving me shit about that? They just decided to visit, that's all."

He said nothing to this, but a feral growl escaped him as his teeth grazed her skin and she shivered.

"I told you not to mark me yet, remember?" She whispered and another growl vibrated against her.

"I see no reason as to why you wish to wait." He murmured against her skin, "You already belong to me. Even if you deny it, you will never find another."

"Then why get so angry at me if some wolves hang around?"

"It is not you that I am angry at."

His head rose from her neck and his eyes glowed down at her, his sharp features just centimeters from hers and his hands released their grip on her wrists. She felt his hand bury into her thick hair while the other planted beside her head, holding him up. Her hands grasped onto the sides of his face and drew him closer, pulling him into a feverish kiss and he growled against her. She let out a moan as their tongues stroked together before the scrape of a fang.

It wasn't long until their clothes were long forgotten on the floor and the sounds of moans and animalistic growls filled the room. Sweat glistened across their skin, their bodies shimmering from the light of the fire and white and black tendrils of hair entangled together like the forming of yin and yang. The steady sounds of rain pounded like steady drums against their sensitive ears and creating an intoxicating rhythm as they lost themselves.

* * *

><p>The rain had stopped by morning and the sun crept into the cave slowly, the warmth from the sun brushing against Daiyu's cheek as she moaned in her sleep. She turned away from the light and burrowed into Sesshoumaru's side. He was lightly sleeping when the sounds of footsteps coming towards the cave made him sit up, a disappointed expression crossing his features as he disentangled himself from the sleeping she-wolf and covered her with a blanket. After their passionate night, they had passed out onto the living room floor, not even bothering to move to the back room.<p>

He slipped on his white under kimono and hakamas before coming to stand at the entrance of the house. He leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed as he saw his retainer and dragon stroll into view. At the sounds of the stomping hooves of the dragon, he heard Daiyu rustling underneath the blanket as she sat up a bit. He looked to her and found her hair disheveled and silver eyes, usually vibrant, appear dark grey from fatigue and he gave her a coy smirk.

"What's that racket?" She groaned tiredly. "Tell them to come back later."

She dropped back down onto the floor and her head disappeared from view from beneath the blanket, her raven hair spewing out from the top and he fought back the urge to play with her some more. He turned his attention back to the visitors and he stepped out of the house.

"Leave Ah-Un there." Sesshoumaru ordered firmly to Jakken and the toad pulled back on the reins, bringing the dragon to an immediate halt.

"Good morning, my lord." Jakken greeted as he dropped down ungracefully off of the dragon and scurried over to Sesshoumaru. He prostrated himself at Sesshoumaru's feet.

"Did you retrieve the item?" Sesshoumaru asked and the toad quickly stood up and ran over to the dragon, opening the pouch and retrieved a small leather pouch. Jakken then bowed again before offering the bag to Sesshoumaru and the inu-taiyoukai picked it up gingerly. He pulled at the strings to open it and a flicker of white greeted his eyes as the sun reflected from the item. Sesshoumaru dug his fingers inside and pulled out a white fang dangling from an ivory chain.

"Good." He remarked before dropping it back into the small pouch, and then tucked it within his collar.

"You are mated now, Lord Sesshoumaru?" Jakken asked, shocked. The toad demon could, no doubt, smell everything.

"Somewhat." Sesshoumaru replied, "Just so we are clear, Jakken, you are forbidden into my mate's home without my permission, is that clear?"

"A-ah, yes my lord."

"So you may entertain yourself for the day or wait here until further instruction."

"Yes, my lord."

"Quietly."

"Yes, Lord Sesshoumaru."

The toad bowed lower and Sesshoumaru, satisfied, spun on his heel and walked up to the house.

Sesshoumaru stepped into the room, his eyes instantly glued to his 'somewhat' mate, whom was slumbering soundly, completely oblivious to the world and he wondered if she slept so heavily when he was on trips and she was alone. This thought brought forth a frown on his lips as he slid in next to her, drawing her naked form against him and she emitted a puppy like whine from being moved. Her skin was covered with marks from his affections and he could still lightly smell her blood from when she had lost her virginity to him. He smirked coyly as he hoped she wouldn't be too sore for another round after she woke up. His hands traced the curve of her hips and she stirred, her dulled grey eyes peaking through dark lashes with a glare.

"You're insatiable."

"Hn."

* * *

><p>Night fell fast to the couple and they finally released each other, panting heavily and appearing quite fatigued as they dropped to the floor. Their hearts were pounding loudly as if it were on the verge of exploding from their chest and Daiyu placed her hand across it for extra measure. The sound of their pants settled to a quiet pace, followed by the sound of Daiyu's stomach growling and Sesshoumaru glanced to her.<p>

"What? It's your fault." Daiyu said and Sesshoumaru chuckled. He got up onto his feet and slipped on his clothes while the she-wolf watched. He picked up a women's kimono and tossed it at her.

"Dress. We will go hunting." He said and Daiyu complied. She slipped on the red colored kimono and fastened it with a simple sash.

"Let's go to a hot spring afterwards." She said, "I'm quite sore."

Sesshoumaru nodded to her, and then stepped outside. The dragon was sleeping and did not lift its head when his master emerged, however, Jakken was quick to respond and he got up from his lackadaisical position to greet Sesshoumaru.

"Good evening, lord Sesshoumaru." Jakken said before raising up his sleeve to cover his nose. He glanced at Daiyu out of the corner of his eyes as she came to stand beside Sesshoumaru, holding a basket of bathing supplies for two people. She looked curiously at Jakken, whom still had half of his face covered underneath his haori sleeve, and then looked up at the dragon not too far away from them. "My lady." He bowed to her then and she nodded in response.

"This is lady Daiyu." Sesshoumaru introduced, and then looked to her, "This is my servant, Jakken. You may call on him if you require anything,"

"Y-yes, it is a pleasure to serve you my lady. Please do not hesitate to ask for my assistance."

"Thank you." She replied, all the while wondering how long the toad demon had been waiting outside of her house while she and Sesshoumaru were having sex, which was certainly not a quiet activity. Her face flushed with embarrassment at this realization and she covered her face with her sleeves while Sesshoumaru chuckled at her.

"Is something the matter, my lady?" Jakken asked and Daiyu's face became more enflamed and she turned away from them.

"She is fine." Sesshoumaru said, "Jakken, guard the house while we are out."

"Yes, my lord." Jakken said before bowing. When they had gotten enough away, Jakken finally raised his arm down and released a heavy exhale.

Sesshoumaru was walking through the trees with Daiyu following closely behind, her face still beet red. When they had walked deep into the forest, Daiyu punched Sesshoumaru in the arm.

"You bastard! You never mentioned that he was waiting outside the entire time!" She fumed, "He heard everything! This is so embarrassing!"

"Hn."

"Would you say something more than just 'hn'!"

"I care not if my servant heard you, or anyone else for that matter." Sesshoumaru replied, he looked down at her, a sinister smile crossing his lips and his thumb brushed against her lower lip. "Besides, you make quite lovely cries."

She glared intensely at him, her aura spiking. "Pervert."

They walked to the hot springs first and Daiyu set the basket next to a large rock for later use. Daiyu was about to transform when Sesshoumaru stopped her with the raise of his hand, gesturing for her to wait.

"What?" She asked, appearing antsy for having stopped in mid transformation and the black mist hovered about her feet.

"You are sore, are you not? Take a bath and I will return with a meal." He said before turning from her, about to take off into the forest without her.

"Um, ok." She said, somewhat disappointed but she could not deny her fatigue. He noticed her dejection and turned back towards her, his hand brushed against her cheek and he leaned his head down to kiss her.

"I won't be long." He murmured as he pulled away, the black mist dissipated and she watched as he leapt away. With a heavy sigh, she turned towards the hot spring and slipped off the kimono before stepping into the water. Once she was in, she took out the soaps and washed herself. Easing her tired muscles into the warm water as a sigh escaped her, her silver eyes dimming to a dull grey as her mind wandered.

She felt… different.

She was no longer a virgin.

She was not saddened by this. On the contrary, she felt a bit of relief since she finally experienced what it was like to be a lover and, considering Sesshoumaru's reactions towards her, she felt that it was safe to assume that she was a capable one. Images of their love making flashed into her mind and she shuddered.

It wasn't long until Daiyu heard his large paws padding up to the area and she turned towards him and leaned onto a rock, resting her chin in her palms as he dropped a mouth full of dead boars and they piled up onto the ground. He sniffed the air and came up to her and her brow rose as he lowered his head down to her level and sniffed again.

"Hey, what's with you?" She exclaimed as she tried pressing his large nose away from her, but he hardly budged an inch. With a puff of smoke and light, he shrunk to his human form and he crouched before her, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he smirked mischievously.

"You smell like you're ready for another round and here I thought that you were tired." He muttered confidently and she scowled at him.

"Well, sooorrryyy!" She retorted sarcastically before leaping out of the water. She transformed quickly and wolfed down the meat that Sesshoumaru had brought for her before reverting back to human form. Sesshoumaru had already gotten into the water and he dipped himself completely underwater before rising back up. She hopped into the water and swam over to the bucket of soaps before turning to Sesshoumaru. Without a word between them, she washed his hair while he sat in the water with compliance. When she had rinsed out the soap from his hair she brought her arms to wrap around him from behind, feeling his wet hair and skin against her chest as she rested her head against his shoulder and she sighed in contentment.

"Are you happy?" He asked quietly, however, he did not move from his seat as she lied against him.

"Hn." She sighed, appearing on the verge of sleep as his heart beat drummed into her ears.

* * *

><p>It was many hours until they returned to Daiyu's house, both appearing weary but content as they neared the awaiting Jakken and Ah-Un. The toad demon regarded them excitedly, however, he had his sleeve covering his nose and Daiyu raised a brow at him.<p>

"Why do you have your sleeve-?"

"Head on inside, Daiyu." Sesshoumaru told her, gesturing for her to go and her brows furrowed, confused. She complied hesitantly and stepped into the house while Sesshoumaru addressed Jakken.

"Your mate seems very naïve, lord Sesshoumaru." Jakken commented and Sesshoumaru glared at him.

"You may retire for the night, Jakken. We will depart early in the morning, so be prepared by dawn."

"Yes, my lord." Sesshoumaru turned away from him and entered the house. Daiyu was sitting on the floor, combing her hair with a small brush and he sat before her, cross legged.

"Naïve, am I?" She muttered, unable to contain her irritation. Sesshoumaru said nothing as he dug into the collar of his haori and withdrew a small leather pouch. Her eyes instantly glued to it as he withdrew a white necklace.

"What's that?" She asked curiously as she paused in brushing her hair and leaned closer to him to have a look. She noticed that there was a strong youki that pulsated from the white fang.

A familiar aura.

Sesshoumaru unhooked the chain and brought the necklace to Daiyu's neck, then fastened it. The ivory was cool against her skin; however the fang was quite warm. She fingered the fang between her thumb and forefinger curiously, her eyes studying the pearly surface before looking up at Sesshoumaru inquisitively.

"I had this done during my absence." Sesshoumaru explained as he leaned away from her.

"This is…" Daiyu mumbled, her eyes widened as the fang pulsed once more. "Your fang?"

"Since you will not allow me to mark you, I had this made." Sesshoumaru explained, though he was hardly pleased. "It shows that you are mine."

"Oh." Daiyu said as she gazed down at the fang, her thoughts heavy for a moment before drawing back to him. She leaned toward him and kissed his cheek, the gesture making him reminisce of when she was little as she smiled.

"Thanks." She breathed, then brought her lips to his, initiating another heated kiss and he began divesting her of her clothes once again.

"When will you accept my mark, woman?" Sesshoumaru murmured as he slipped off her kimono. At his question, her eyes glowed bright silver, appearing quite feral as she gave him a devilish smirk.

"When I am absolutely certain that I have all of you."

* * *

><p>It was early morning; the sun had yet to rise when she felt Sesshoumaru move about her home. She sat up slowly, rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes as she watched him slip the swords into his sash, already fully armored.<p>

"Where are you going this time?" She asked, dazedly and he turned towards her.

"I have patrol of the territories." He replied, "There are always demons outstretching their boundaries."

"Can I come?"

"No," He replied firmly and she glared at him. He noticed her sudden animosity and he came to crouch in front of her, his hand brushed against the contours of her neck and jaw as he gazed at her intensely, his thoughts appearing heavy with unspoken memories.

She wondered what those memories entailed, but said nothing.

"You are safer here." He murmured before his face hardened. "Stay around the village and don't try to follow me, either."

He straightened up quickly and began walking out; however, once he reached the doorway he looked back at her and tossed something into the air. She caught it quickly and she looked down into her hand to find a well made flute made out of the same bamboo that she had been using and her eyes widened.

"I expect to hear a song when I return." He muttered before disappearing out the door, leaving a dumbfounded Daiyu sitting on the floor.

"God damn idiot." She grumbled before dropping back down onto the tatami mats. She held the flute up before her eyes, brushing her fingertips over the smooth surface before bringing the mouth piece to her lips. She blew softly into it and a gentle sound came to her ears despite her sensitive hearing and a soft smile came to her lips as her heart fluttered at the sweet hum.


	10. Sister

"Sister!"

Daiyu, appearing quite vexed, whipped her head around. However, her expression softened at the sight of the village children instead of the wolf pack and she sighed with relief.

"What's with everyone calling me sister these days?" She grumbled. She was crouching before the village river with two buckets and quickly filled them up before latching a long wooden handle that she brought over her shoulder and lifted the buckets with ease. The children ran over to her and Daiyu noticed an addition to their group, an older girl whom was in her preteens wearing the fanciest kimono among the children.

"Hi! I'm Rin!" The girl greeted cheerfully and Daiyu almost dropped the buckets.

"Um, hi, I'm Daiyu." Daiyu replied, "You're Sesshoumaru's little human girl, aren't you?"

"Yup!" She came closer to Daiyu and lifted one of the buckets from the wooden latch. "Here, I'll help you. Where do you live, Lady Daiyu?"

"It's kind of far; you don't have to help me carry it."

"I want to."

"…Suit yourself." Daiyu muttered all the while thinking that any thoughts of jealousy towards this little human were nothing but wasted emotions, Rin was a child after all. They began to walk towards the cave that was a couple of miles away from the village while the children decided to follow Daiyu and she felt like she was a mother hen with a trail of chicks. She chuckled at the image.

"You're Lord Sesshoumaru's wife, right?" Rin asked and Daiyu startled, she turned her head from the forest trail to look at Rin with an uneasy expression.

"I-I guess you could call it that…" Daiyu replied, she wondered what exactly her title was. Being a demon, she was not married to him and yet she had refused to mate with him fully. "Who told you I was his wife?"

"Mr. Miroku."

"Figures."

A majority of the younger children grew tired of following and scampered off back to the village, leaving just three children left, Rin and two boys. They were halfway between the village and Daiyu's cave when Daiyu turned and picked up the bucket from Rin.

"I think this is far enough." Daiyu said before hooking the bucket onto the wooden handle.

"Why can't we see your house?" One of the boys asked.

"It's too dangerous for little humans." Daiyu replied, "There are demons that would consider you as nothing more than food."

"But you're a demon and you don't eat us."

"Don't argue with me, kid!" Daiyu quipped and the boys flinched back where as Rin giggled. "Head on back."

There was the sudden crack of a gun shot from quite a distance, followed by the whirring sounds of a bullet tearing through the air that only Daiyu could hear when pain hit her across her arm, shoulder and chest. The children screamed at the sight of blood and Daiyu dropped the buckets from her shoulder.

"Lady Daiyu!" Rin exclaimed as she ran over to her, but Daiyu waved her away.

"Go back! I'm fine." Daiyu barked, her hand covered a gaping abrasion across her left shoulder from the bullet. No human gun could cause such damage to her body.

The three children staggered, hesitant to leave her and Daiyu snarled at them.

"I said get the hell away!" Even Rin shuddered this time and Daiyu unsheathed her sword at her hip before speeding off into the trees in the direction of where the bullet was shot.

"Rin, what should we do?" One of the boys asked and she quickly spun back towards the village.

"We have to find Lord Inuyasha!" She shouted over her shoulder as she ran.

Daiyu leapt out of the trees to see if she could spot the demon attacking her, but the moment she emerged another bullet whizzed precariously close to her head and she ducked.

"What the fuck?" She gnarled angrily as her Dao sword hummed in her hand. She landed on a branch gracefully, then swung her blade and a cold chill arose in the air. Her silver eyes brightening to almost completely white as her senses heightened. "Where's that bastard?" She whispered. Her sight became that of complete whiteness, appearing as if she were looking through a snow storm when suddenly a red dot surfaced in the distance.

"Gotcha!" She murmured before swinging her blade once more and a gale of wind blasted from the sword, freezing everything in its path. It appeared that she was going to hit her target until the last minute when the red dot disappeared from her sights and she cursed.

"Not looking so hot anymore! Eh, whore?" The voice was familiar and Daiyu laughed sinisterly. There was the sound of metal clanking together then forest trees sliced apart like a giant blade had chopped them down. Daiyu managed to evade the attack and now crouched behind a boulder, her sword raised in anticipation and a devilish smirk on her lips.

"Is that you, three legs?"

"Fucking bitch!" A female snarl answered and Daiyu laughed.

"Are you alone?" Daiyu asked.

"Why the hell would I tell you?" The female leopard retorted from a distance. Daiyu sniffed the air and used the sword once more to scan the white void for more enemies, there were four more red dots coming towards her at incredible speeds and Daiyu's brow furrowed.

"Jaguars?" She muttered under her breath. There was another clanking sound and Daiyu bolted from her crouched position to land many yards away, staying close to the ground and near giant rocks for cover as more trees were cut down.

"You'd best come out soon, wolfie! There's not going to be much a forest to hide in if you keep this up!" The leopard hollered, Daiyu looked at the four pursuers' progress towards her when an eruption of light unfurled at her and she barely managed to dodge. She landed atop another rock and slashed at their direction, a white and blue beam of light blasting into the fallen trees and the four demons split up to surround her.

"Shit!" She seethed just before a blast hit her in the back and she dropped onto her knees. Her entire body was steaming from the heat and she was panting heavily from the pain.

A behemoth sickle and chain launched at her and she quickly ducked her head, the wind gusted over her head from the speed and size of the weapon and she used her damaged arm to wrap around the chain. With a loud grunt, she pulled at the chain and a jaguar demon appeared through the trees. Daiyu leapt quickly at the jaguar and severed its head atop a tree branch, the blood spraying over her and the sword as her face became feral.

Chains shot out around her in attempt to catch her but she danced around them, and then managed to cut at a couple of the chain links with her sword. The sickles recoiled from the ground just before the three jaguars appeared with the leopard farthest away, holding a large musket.

"Not bad, wolf." A jaguar chuckled from his perched position as Daiyu faced them on the ground. "Not many have ever lasted this long."

Daiyu said nothing, her eyes bright with demonic energy and her expression cold.

"Daiyu!" The she-wolf did not look towards Inuyasha as he came rushing towards her, sword already drawn. He leapt at one of the jaguars and released his wind scar and the earth grumbled beneath them. During this distraction, Daiyu leapt straight towards the leopard, knowing that she was their leader, and chains curled around her body and she takes her sword and blasts at the nearest jaguar. She drops down onto the ground, the chains tightening around her right leg and around her chest and waist, ushering a painful throb from her wound as the blood stain widened on her clothes. Another thunderous crack emitted from the leopard's musket, the bullet tearing into Daiyu's ribs and she clenched her teeth in pain. With a grunt, Daiyu gripped onto the chain once more, "Get over here!" She snarled loudly as she yanked on the chain with all of her strength and the youkai toppled from the tree and she stabbed him in the chest.

"Now it's just you and me, she-male!" Daiyu growled and the leopard launched at her.

Inuyasha quickly dispatched the remaining jaguars before looking to Daiyu once more, she was covered in blood, both hers and the jaguars', appearing animalistic as she faced off with the leopard with fiery resolve.

It wasn't long until Daiyu had the leopard face down in the dirt with the she-wolf over the top of her, appearing quite victorious, as she gripped onto the leopard's hair and yanked her head back.

"It took you fuckers quite some time to attack me again." Daiyu chuckled demonically and Inuyasha was shocked by her dark behavior. "I was beginning to think you all forgot about me."

"You fuck-!"

The leopard was suddenly cut off as Daiyu slammed the hilt of her sword into the leopard's hand, the sound of breaking bones came to their ears and the leopard screamed.

"You will talk when I tell you to, three legs!"

"Daiyu, isn't this a bit much?" Inuyasha exclaimed but Daiyu silenced him with a death glare.

"Stay out of this!" Daiyu quipped with clenched teeth, "I'm interrogating this bitch, got that? Now shut up or leave!"

Inuyasha said nothing, but remained close by. He sat with his back turned away from Daiyu and the leopard, his brows furrowing with a grim expression over his visage.

"Now, where were we?" Daiyu said, now speaking in Mandarin as she turned her attention back to the demon. "I want to know everything about what's going on with Tingfeng and Shun!"

"What does it matter? You'll be fucking dead soon anyway!"

The leopard gave another scream in agony as Daiyu slammed the hilt of her sword into the hand once again.

"If you don't answer, I'll cut off your fingers one by one and if you still won't answer, I'll cut off a limb, got that?" Daiyu seethed and the leopard began to cry.

"W-we've been trying to kill you for some time!" The leopard yowled, "But that damn dog keeps cutting us off!"

"Dog?" Daiyu's eyes widened a bit and she gripped onto the leopard more firmly. "Sesshoumaru?"

"Yeah! He's been killing all of the assassins we've sent."

"If that is true, then how are you here?"

"Shun is arriving soon, he must…your dog must have picked up on this and is tracking him."

"Shun is coming here?" Daiyu gasped, "Why go this far over just me? They have my entire territory!"

"Multiple reasons…" The leopard was becoming hesitant to continue and Daiyu dug the hilt more firmly into the hand and the demon sobbed. "As long as you're alive, you are a threat to Tingfeng. He fears that you will bare a powerful offspring with the dog and come back to China, wanting revenge."

"Is that all?" Daiyu asked, her tone growing cold. This confession was not shocking to her; she could have surmised that on her own.

"The sword-he wants the sword." the leopard gasped, "He wants the sword of the North as token to his accomplishments."

"That's too trivial, there's no point in taking this sword. Only a black wolf can use the blade."

"I don't know, that's just what I was told!" The leopard was becoming frantic with fear, her crippled hand shaking terribly from underneath the sword's handle and Daiyu lifted the sword.

"Anything else? When will Shun be arriving?" Daiyu asked and she yanked on the leopard's hair to get her to respond quickly.

"Shun left soon after we did, so he should be here. No doubt he is fighting your dog right now."

"What?"

"And if Shun fails this time, Tingfeng will come personally and he will not spare anyone. He'll kill those disgusting humans in the village, those brown wolves, that half-breed over there and that dog you're fucking!"

Daiyu's face contorted in fury, her eyes blinking back crimson as she snarled angrily. The leopard was laughing beneath her with tears flowing from her eyes and Daiyu stabbed the leopard in the back. Blood sprayed as the sword hissed in her hand, she withdrew the blade from the now dead female before standing up.

"Daiyu!" Inuyasha exclaimed, he had not understood their conversation since they spoke in Mandarin the entire time, but he could see the pain etched across Daiyu's bloodied face as she stared down at the leopard's body. "What's going on?"

Daiyu flicked the blood from her blade before sheathing it smoothly, "I'm going after Sesshoumaru." She murmured, her tone emotionless. "He is going to attack Shun."

"So let him, he knows what he's getting himself into." At Inuyasha's words, Daiyu spun on her heel and smacked the half-demon across the face.

"He's your brother!" Daiyu yelled, her face contorted with multiple emotions, "Shun is not some ordinary demon and Tingfeng is even worse! You can't expect Sesshoumaru to shoulder everything!"

"He's not!" Inuyasha growled, he held his hand over his burning cheek as he fumed down at the she-wolf. "Did you ever think why he always wanted you to stay near the village, you dumb broad?"

Daiyu was taken aback by his sudden outburst and she leaned back a bit, her animosity lightening.

"Sesshoumaru is having us protect you while he can focus on fighting!" Inuyasha barked, "So we are all shouldering responsibility in this!"

"B-but why?" Daiyu gasped, "I'm not even-"

"What? Family?" Inuyasha bit out, "As far as I know, when a woman marries your brother you gain a sister, idiot!" Inuyasha smacked her atop the head and she flinched. "Now stop your bitching and let's head back. You need Kagome to look at your wounds."

"That can wait." Daiyu replied, "I can't just let him fight Shun alone."

"God damn it, bitch, weren't you listening to me?" Inuyasha exasperated as he grabbed a hold of her good arm and she shoved him away. Her cheeks were wet with tears, bewildering Inuyasha, as she snapped her gaze at him, her eyes glowing ethereally.

"He's all I have left!" Daiyu exclaimed, her face describing the amount of grief she endured before she turned away from him. Her body erupted in blue light as she transformed into an orb.

"Wait! Daiyu!" Inuyasha bellowed as he tried grasping onto the orb, but she sped off before he could grab onto her then disappeared into the blue skies.

"Fuck!" Inuyasha exasperated loudly before taking off in her direction.

* * *

><p>Daiyu had been flying for several hours, losing a lot of blood in the process and she could feel her strength diminishing, however, she flew onward. She had entered Echigo province before collapsing entirely. She knew that, when crossing the Sea of Japan from Northern China, one would most likely land in the west of Hokkaido as she had done. So, if Shun was on his way, he was likely to be any where south of Nambu and Akita province by this time. She dropped down onto a sea cliff, the wind blowing coldly and the night sky loomed over head.<p>

What now?

She groaned in pain as she lied out on the ground, her panting barely heard over the crashing of waves, the blood from her wounds seeping into the dirt soil beneath her body. What was she kidding? How was she going to fight Shun in this condition?

She was losing consciousness when footsteps came to her ears, followed by a familiar scent as it wafted to her nose and she frowned.

"Foolish woman." Sesshoumaru's voice was heard overhead before he crouched beside her. He lifted her head up with his arm as his fingers brushed over her wounds and she hissed loudly. "What happened?" His voice genuinely concerned.

"Don't attack Shun on your own." Daiyu muttered, "Please…."

She brought her arms around his neck, not caring that she was getting blood on him as she held onto him. The armor dug into her chest and wounds, but she ignored the pain as he patted her on the back like a child.

"Lord Sesshoumaru! Should I get some bandages?" Jakken called from behind Sesshoumaru and the inu-taiyoukai nodded towards his servant. Jakken left the dragon behind and took off, disappearing quickly into the trees as Sesshoumaru pulled her away from him.

"Answer me, what happened?" His tone was crisp this time, his demeanor firm. He withdrew a handkerchief from the folds of his collar and attempted to clean the blood caked over her cheeks. "You smell of cats."

"A couple of Tingfeng's men gave me some trouble, but they're dead now." Daiyu answered honestly, "I interrogated one and she told me that Shun was arriving and that you were on his trail."

"And what are you doing here?" Sesshoumaru asked, "I told you not to follow me."

"Shun is not an easy opponent, he nearly killed me when I escaped to Japan."

"I know." Sesshoumaru replied with nonchalance, "He will be a worthy adversary. At least, that is what I am hoping."

"You're…hoping?" Daiyu's brow twitched at this as she gave him an irritated glare. "This isn't some game."

"No, this is a bit more entertaining." Sesshoumaru replied, "However, if he proves to be yet another inferior demon, a cat no less, then I will be most displeased for having him occupy so much of my time."

"Egoist." Daiyu muttered as she leaned away from him, feeling extremely dejected for being the only one whom seemed to be fearful of all of this. "If you slay Shun, Tingfeng will come."

"I am counting on that." Sesshoumaru replied, "If the old tiger comes, then I can be sure to end everything."

"You're overconfident." Daiyu said and he frowned at her, but said nothing in retort.

"When you are bandaged up, I will have Jakken escort you home."

"No, I-"

"I will send you in chains if I have to." Sesshoumaru said coldly and Daiyu seethed at him.

"You'd love to see that, wouldn't you, pervert?" Daiyu quipped.

"Lord Sesshoumaru!" Jakken croaked loudly from a distance and Sesshoumaru looked over to Jakken. The toad had his arms full with folded cloth used for bandaging wounds with a salve box on top, but his green, impish face was aghast.

"What is it?"

"The tigers have arrived, what shall we do, milord?" Sesshoumaru released Daiyu as she sat up on her own, albeit shakily, and he looked to Jakken.

"Bandage up the wounds." Sesshoumaru commanded, "Then escort her back to Inuyasha's village on Ah-Un."

"Yes, Lord Sesshoumaru." Jakken replied, "I will see to her safety."

"If you fail in this, Jakken, you know the consequence, am I correct?"

"Y-yes, milord." he was bowing to the best of his ability without dirtying the bandages. "You can count on your loyal servant."

"Sesshoumaru! I'm not leaving!" Daiyu exclaimed and he gave her a hardened glare.

"You try my patience, mate." Sesshoumaru replied coldly. "I have overlooked your disobedience in coming here, but don't think I will always be so forgiving."

"Don't give me that bullshit!" Daiyu seethed. "I'm not leaving you here alone!"

"And what benefit would you give me by staying?" Sesshoumaru was brimming with anger now and Jakken shrunk in the background in fear. "How can a wounded wolf, a woman no less, give me any advantage? You will be nothing but a burden!"

"But-"

"Go home!" He turned his back on her, his heated glare turning to Jakken and the toad squawked, "I give you permission to use any means necessary to get her home. Chains or knock her out."

"..Y-yes, it will be done." Jakken stuttered shakily while Daiyu was fuming in the background. There were the sounds of running feet coming closer and Sesshoumaru unsheathed his blade.

"There's no time to bandage her, leave now." Sesshoumaru ordered to Jakken, no longer speaking to Daiyu, whom would only argue back. Jakken brought the dragon over to Daiyu and helped her onto the saddle, then slipped in front of her, taking the reins in his small hand while holding his staff with the other. The dragon kicked up into the air with a gust of wind and it blew wildly around Sesshoumaru as he looked towards the forest, his back facing towards the sea cliffs. Daiyu watched him wearily, torn between obeying his orders and the urge to be with him when he was in danger despite her wounds. However, all she could do was stare at his evanescent light within the dark night, his demonic aura blossoming outward with sadistic blood thirst before everything faded to black.


	11. The Sword Which Summons Winter

The sounds of Jakken's shouts filled her ears as well as the cacophony of clashing swords, explosions, and yowls that ushered her from unconsciousness. Another blast hit nearby and she could feel the percussion slamming her off of the saddle of the dragon and she fell through the sky.

"My lady!" Jakken was screeching, the piercing sound snapping her out of her daze and her eyes flashed open. The air whizzed past her ear as she whipped her body around like a cat falling and preparing to catch itself and she landed in a crouch on all fours. "Lady Daiyu!"

"Alright, I heard you already!" Daiyu grunted as pain gripped her ribs and shoulder. She quickly assessed the area, they were in some sort of bamboo forest and the dawn was only a few hours away. Snow lightly covered the ground, winter slowly making its way south of Japan as snowflakes began to drift down from the sky and the air was crisp. Puffs of steam billowed from Daiyu's lips as she panted lightly and gripped onto the wound, her body on the verge of shivering from the amount of blood loss and the cold exposure.

"My lady, we should get going, there are many after us." Jakken squawked loudly as he brought the dragon down from the sky to pick her up, Ah-Un gave a huff through its nostrils as it stomped to her side.

"Where did that explosion come from? Did it hit us in the air?" Daiyu asked, her tone firm as she scanned the area.

"Yes, lady Daiyu, now please get onto the dragon!" Jakken was exuding panic as he gripped tightly onto the two-headed staff, his green knuckles paling by the second as he looked about the area frantically.

"Jakken, give me the bandages!" Daiyu ordered suddenly and the toad demon startled.

"We don't have time for that my lady."

"Just shut up and give me the damn things!" Daiyu barked before loosening her haori and Jakken's face became bright red. He covered his face with his sleeve to hide her nakedness from his sight.

"My lady, please forgive this lowly servant for seeing that which is only for my lord!"

"Keh, you're not the first. Now, give me the bandages!" Daiyu said and Jakken tossed her the salve box and held out the bandages in front of her. She quickly put on the salve over the wound in her ribs and shoulder, biting back the pain, before quickly covering it with thick cotton swatches to staunch the wounds. She wrapped the long white strips of cloth around her ribs then up and over her breasts, then looped it over her wounded shoulder.

"Will your wounds heal quickly, lady Daiyu?" Jakken asked while she tied the ends and then slipped on her haori before adjusting her obi.

"The bullet went cleanly through my shoulder, but the one in my rib is still inside." Daiyu answered as she fastened the Dao sword at her hip. At her words, Jakken's eyes widened greatly and his worry piqued.

"We need to get you to a doctor!" Jakken said anxiously, but Daiyu remained calm.

"There's nothing we can do about it at the moment." Daiyu replied, she unsheathed her sword and turned her eyes towards the direction they came from.

"My lady?" Jakken asked, but she ignored him. The sword pulsated in her hand as her eyes glowed brightly to almost white. A cold gust of wind blew through the trees and swirled around the sword of Shoushan as an aurora emanated from the blade.

Her vision became that familiar white void, the green bamboo disappearing into an image of a blizzard as she scanned through the storm that appeared before her. While the real world around her remained the same, if not colder than before.

"We must go! Please, milady!" Jakken croaked behind her. A horde of reddish silhouettes appeared through the white void in her sight, spotting multiple enemies coming towards her as well as a large golden light.

"Sesshoumaru's on his way here, but he won't make it before the small army reaches us." Daiyu said. "If we fly, we will make for easy targets."

"Then what should we do? If any more harm comes to you, lord Sesshoumaru will have my head!" Jakken was growing ever more frantic with fear and he tugged onto her obi.

"We need to leave now, damn it!" Jakken croaked loudly this time and Daiyu shook him off. She turned towards the dragon and noticed that the saddle was drenched in her blood and an idea struck her.

"Jakken, take the dragon and run towards the village without me." Daiyu ordered, "My scent is all over that dragon and they will no doubt follow after that. I will mask my scent in a hiding place in the ground and attack them from behind when they come after you."

"B-but milady-!"

"This is an order, Jakken!" Daiyu gave him an icy glare, one to rival that of his master and Jakken shuddered in trepidation. Without any more to say, Daiyu sped off, leaving Jakken alone with the blood drenched dragon and a terrified expression erupted across his face.

"What the hell am I going to do? Lord Sesshoumaru's going to kill me for sure!" Jakken exasperated loudly on top of Ah-Un, but the dragon seemed unfazed by the events and began stomping through the forest quickly.

* * *

><p>Daiyu had managed to find an abandoned fox hole in the earth and buried herself inside. The hole was quite small, so she had to lie on her stomach to fit with her head close to the entrance. The smell of foxes exuded from the soil, masking her scent enough to where they shouldn't be able to sense her and she awaited their passing through with the hope that her plan will work to her advantage.<p>

Minutes dragged on and her body became ice cold as she awaited the cats' arrival. When she finally heard the fast steps of their feet she stiffened, her visage hardening. "About God damn time!" She whispered to herself as she gripped onto her sword and it seemed to pulse back in agreement. Suddenly, Jakken emerged from the trees, his tiny green frame scurrying across the ground.

"What the fuck is he…? Such an idiot!" Daiyu groaned irritably, she cupped her hands around her mouth and whispered loud enough for him to hear. "Jakken!" The toad demon's bulbous eyes scanned over to her hiding spot and she gestured with her hand to get him to hurry over and he ran to the fox hole.

"My lady-!" He was interrupted when she suddenly gripped onto his collar with a tight fist and gave him a heated glare.

"What are you doing? I told you to go with the damn dragon!" Daiyu growled loudly and Jakken shook with trepidation.

"I-I have to protect you, milady!" Jakken stuttered and her glare hardened. "I-I'm sorr-?"

"Oh, shut up!" Daiyu muttered before tossing him over her shoulder to land inside the hole and she returned her attention back to the youkai unit chasing them. "How the hell is a toad demon going to get us out of this mess, seriously? Fuckin' useless." Daiyu muttered, thinking aloud.

"Hey! I was once the general of my clan, y'know!" Jakken retorted.

"Yeah? The general of toads? That's sooooo impressive!" Daiyu replied sarcastically. "Who'd you fight? Flies and more toads?" She chuckled wickedly and Jakken glared daggers at the back of her head, but he could not make a come back, unfortunately for him, she was right. "Is the dragon heading towards the village?" Daiyu asked, changing the subject.

"Yes, milady." Jakken grumbled dryly, still feeling a strong sense of depression from Daiyu's harsh reality. "Do you think that Ah-Un will be in danger? They are chasing it."

"They're after me, not some random dragon. The moment they catch up to him, they'll be too concerned about finding me than killing it out of frustration."

"Why don't you wait here for lord Sesshoumaru to return before engaging in battle?" Jakken then inquired and Daiyu grinned wickedly.

"We can't let Sesshoumaru have all of the fun, can we?" Daiyu began chuckling evilly and Jakken shuddered.

"I fear for milord's future."

Daiyu's acute hearing noticed the change in the flow of the trees and she motioned for Jakken to be quiet and they both turned towards the bamboo forest before them. She kept low to the ground and covered her mouth to muffle her breathing as the eclectic cat youkai began littering the area.

The group was clad in black Shinobi attire, wearing black masks over their faces as their light yellow gaze pierced through their dark hair and clothes as they leapt gracefully through the trees. Daiyu took note of their weapons, which were eclectic, but the popular items seemed to be the chain and sickle, a couple Zhuas, Chinese war swords and one, most noticeably, was wearing behemoth Tekko-kagi over the back of his hands.

She debated about taking him out first; he seemed to be the leader of the group as he barked orders at them over his shoulder.

When their backs were turned as they followed the scent trail left by the dragon covered in her blood, Daiyu leapt from the cave and impaled the closest demon with her sword.

"She's here!" The Tekko-kagi wearer bellowed to his men as he quickly changed his direction towards her. Daiyu ripped out her sword and evaded a sickle aimed at her head and she slashed the chain.

"Jubei-san, we must hurry! The dog is coming!" One of the men exclaimed as the leader, known as Jubei, launched at her with his claw-like weapons. Daiyu managed to block one swipe of the Tekko-kagi, but then his other hand came at her from the side and she blocked it with the armor over her left arm as her shoulder erupted in pain. With a loud grunt, she slammed her foot into his chest, knocking him away from her and his back broke through many bamboo shoots. The panthers jumped in, surrounding her quickly and she stabbed another panther in the chest as Jubei quickly recovered. With a loud whistle from the leader, they threw their sickles and she evaded several of them, then another whistle came and the sounds of chains clanking filled the air as the panthers moved quickly. Daiyu tried to break their attack by cutting as many chains as possible, but there were too many and, with a yell, the chains coiled around her, rendering her immobile.

"My lady!" Jakken had leapt in front of her with the staff of two heads raised high. With a quick tap of the bottom end into the ground, flames hurled forth from the mouth of the staff. The cat youkai yowled as some were scorched on various surfaces of their bodies before managing to leap away.

Daiyu struggled against the restraints; her sword pulsated loudly in her hand as her eyes became a bright silvery white. However, her attempts were proven futile and she fell onto her knees.

"Shit!" She cursed loudly while Jakken continued to keep the cat youkai away. The sword felt increasingly cold in her hand, making her skin turn a deathly pale hue as the chill stretched across her body and she wondered what the sword was doing. With a loud pulsation, the chains froze over, appearing like ice had enveloped the metal and Daiyu attempted to break free. With a large, resounding crack, the chains snapped and, with all of her arm strength, she broke free. The chains clattered at her feet as the youkai came to surround them, making Jakken work even harder to keep them at bay before Daiyu came to stand back up. "Jakken, get behind me!" Daiyu ordered and the toad was more than happy to obey. The toad demon was panting wearily as he scurried over to stand behind her legs.

The one known as Jubei came closer, his yellow eyes glinting, but Daiyu could not read his expression behind the mask. "I've never been kicked by a girl before, that was quite impressive." The youkai got into poised positions and Daiyu's main concern was focused on Jubei and the youkai with the Zhuas, which would hurt the most if she were to be hit by them. The last thing she wanted was to have her skull crushed by a six foot pole or being shredded into ribbons by that behemoth Tekko-kagi.

"Milady, this is not good! We're gonna die!" Jakken muttered frantically behind her and she fought the urge to break her concentration and kick the toad off into the distance. She got into a stance, spreading out her legs and bending her knees with sword held out in front of her. In perfect Wushu stance, she awaited the impending attack from the dozen youkai with extreme patience, her face hardening into extreme focus and Jubei's eyes betrayed the excited smile that he held underneath his mask.

"Too bad you're a wolf; you would have made an excellent panther youkai," Jubei, whom was a panther youkai himself, chuckled as he held his attack-ready position, "And a cub bearer."

"Go fuck yourself." Daiyu quipped back, though she did not break her focus or stance. The youkai circled around her and Jakken like predators and the toad demon collected himself enough to take a position of defending her blindside. When the youkai grew too close, Jakken released the flames from the staff while Jubei launched at her, raising his claw like weapon for a killing blow and Daiyu evaded the swipe of his blades before taking a swing of her sword. Blue and white light burst from the blade as the air around them felt like it was nearing sub-zero temperatures and Jubei managed to dodge, but several of his comrades weren't so lucky and they were impaled with the blizzard like beam of energy. Another panther swiped his Zhua, the iron hand nearing dangerously close to her face and she quickly shoved Jakken away before leaping out of the way. She tumbled into a crouched position again and she glanced at Jakken's location, which was several yards away.

"Get out of the way, God damn cats!" Jakken squawked before torching more of the cat youkai; trying to get back to his mistress' side. Jubei launched at her once more and she leapt upwards into the trees and the cat youkai quickly tailed her. Anticipating this, she smirked menacingly and with a blast of black mist, she transformed into her true state and caught several cat youkai in her jowls before snapping them in half with a large snarl.

"Bitch!" Jubei growled loudly and Daiyu made an animalistic chuckle as she landed onto the earth floor. Many trees were knocked over by her mass like nothing more than blades of grass and the black wolf bulldozed into the cat demons, biting off one of their heads before evading an attack with finesse.

Jubei's frame erupted into smoke as he transformed as well, his large panther body towering over the she-wolf, but she did not cower. Her lips curled back, baring her white fangs ominously as a feral snarl continued to rumble from her frame. A large wound in her ribs began to bleed openly and dripped onto the ground between her paws and Jubei grinned confidently.

"My lady, pull back! Your wound is-!" Jakken was interrupted as Daiyu attacked the panther while the other youkai below surrounded her, whipping out their large jiujiebians, long enough to ensnare a demon of her size and Jakken panicked. "No you don't!" He bellowed before torching into the nearest youkai and the cat leapt away from the flames. While the black wolf and panther fought ferociously, the cat youkai found an opening in Daiyu's defense and quickly threw their chains. However, right as the chains were about to unfurl around the wolf, they were repelled back with a large sword.

"Half-breed!" Jakken exclaimed at the newcomer and Inuyasha snarled angrily.

"Don't fucking call me that! I have a name, y'know!" Inuyasha bellowed as he came to land next to Daiyu's paw. The hanyou, with Tetsusaiga already in hand, leapt between the dueling large demons, to swipe at the panther, releasing the Meido from the blade and countless black crescents cut into the panther and the surrounding cat youkai while Jakken scurried out of the way.

"You almost killed me, you cretin!" Jakken yelled at Inuyasha, whom only smirked wickedly. The demolished bamboo forest became littered with various cat youkai body parts that were left behind from the meido, leaving Daiyu, Inuyasha and Jakken the only ones alive in the area.

"Keh, that ended easily enough!" Inuyasha chuckled as he landed in front of the large she-wolf, whom was panting heavily. Blood continued to pour from her wound in her rib, though the one in her shoulder had already began to close up, and she collapsed onto the ground, making the earth tremble lightly from her mass. Too exhausted to transform back into her humanoid form, Daiyu laid out on her side in her true form with the wound facing up and Inuyasha walked over to assess it.

"That looks like shit!" Inuyasha commented as he rested the blunt side of his oversized sword against his shoulder in a relaxed manner.

"Milady!" Jakken shouted as he ran over to her side and he hopped onto her form to get a closer look into the wound while she huffed, not particularly liking the fact that Jakken was standing on her like an oversized rug. "There's a bullet stuck in there! We need to get it out or her wounds will get worse!"

"What can we do about it right now? She's stuck in this form, it looks like." Inuyasha said, "I can't carry her when she's this big!"

"No, you idiot! You need to dig in there and take it out!" Jakken exasperated and Inuyasha startled, a disgusted expression crossing his features as he took a step back."Eww, I ain't sticking my arm in there!" Inuyasha exclaimed. "You do it."

"I can't, dumb ass! My arms are too short!" Jakken retorted hotly. Before Inuyasha could reply, a powerful demonic aura came towards them in a familiar blue orb before dropping down next to Daiyu's pointed ears. Not shockingly, Sesshoumaru emerged from the orb and kneeled beside her head, his hand resting onto her long black strands of fur and she emitted a whine.

"Milord!"

"Sesshoumaru, we gotta get the bullet out or else she ain't gonna heal up. Ya wanna do the honors?" Inuyasha said with a last touch of sarcasm and Sesshoumaru glanced up at his brother with a cold stare.

"You will have to do it," Sesshoumaru said, his tone stoic. "I will hold her down."

"Damn it." Inuyasha muttered. After a heavy sigh, Inuyasha pulled back his sleeves high up onto his arms and seemed to be preparing himself mentally before looking over to Sesshoumaru. "Ready when you are."

Sesshoumaru nodded before quickly transforming, towering over the she-wolf and making her appear quite small in comparison and he used his body to hold her down while she remained unmoving. His massive head rested over her neck and his crimson eyes glanced at Inuyasha, cuing him to begin and Inuyasha took in a deep inhale.

"Be gentle, you clumsy peasant!" Jakken grumbled at Inuyasha and the hanyou punched him off of Daiyu's fur. He placed his left hand beside the large gash to help steady himself before bringing his right hand just before the hole.

"Alright, here it goes." Inuyasha grimaced before plunging his hand into the wound and Daiyu squirmed beneath Sesshoumaru's frame, but he pressed harder into her to keep her from moving. Loud wails came from her muzzle from the pain and her tail flailed about angrily, but Inuyasha continued.

"Ah! Got it!" Inuyasha exclaimed with almost his entire arm submerged between her ribs and he quickly recoiled his hand, all too happy to get out. His bloodied hand held up a large round iron ball the size of a walnut encased in a dark aura and smelling of wolfsbane before Sesshoumaru and Daiyu's massive heads and Sesshoumaru lifted himself from Daiyu, whom was now growling incessantly.

"Can you transform now?" Inuyasha asked Daiyu, but she made no answer, just continued to growl in a tantrum. Sesshoumaru licked into her neck, attempting to calm her back down which took a while, but her growls eventually subsided.

"Milord, have the cat demons retreated?" Jakken asked then, standing on top of Daiyu again to gander at the wound and Sesshoumaru whacked him off with his tail. With a couple barks, he gave them the news.

"Shun has escaped, but I took care of most of them." He replied, any human would be incapable of understanding his words. "Where's Ah-Un?"

"U-uh, milady used him as a decoy to get most of the cat youkai off of our trail." Jakken answered. "Hopefully, he is unharmed."

"Yeah, it looked alright." Inuyasha cut in, "I ran into it on the way here, the cats must have caught on and abandoned it to retreat with the rest of 'em."

Sesshoumaru said nothing further as Daiyu began to move, turning slowly onto her chest and raising her head before attempting to sit up onto her hind legs and then lifting her front leg to lick at her wound. Sesshoumaru, seeing that she was improving, transformed back into his humanoid form, this time with her towering over him and he regarded Jakken stolidly.

"Retrieve Ah-Un and take it to the village." Sesshoumaru said and Jakken startled.

"A-ah, yes, lord Sesshoumaru." Jakken stuttered awkwardly, with a quick bow he scurried off and disappeared quickly from sight.

"What now?" Inuyasha asked Sesshoumaru, whom was staring at Daiyu while she was continuing to lick her wound.

"We return to the village and prepare for an attack, though you need not worry for your human village. The tiger's only interest is in killing Daiyu. So much so that he was not interested in fighting me despite my attacking him." Sesshoumaru answered, "With this in mind, I have no alternative other than to keep her within sight and perhaps he will be foolish enough to attack her with me nearby."

"How big is his regiment?" Inuyasha asked, his demeanor that of extreme interest.

"Enough to give you some exercise."

"Awesome!" Inuyasha burst out, his gold eyes gleaming and his ears flicking forward at attention. "Finally get some serious action!"

"Indeed." Sesshoumaru replied calmly before turning his attention back to the giant she-wolf behind him.

"We are leaving." He told Daiyu and her silver eyes glanced over to him pensively, her tail wagged as she lied back down on her chest with head lowering and she crawled over to him, appearing playful and he replied with a hard glare. "Now."

She rolled her eyes at him, huffing agitatedly before erupting in black mist, swirling around her like a tornado until it shrank down significantly and her human form appeared. She sat with her knees bent, regarding Sesshoumaru with a disappointed expression and a dark brow raised.

"You're no fun." She muttered and Sesshoumaru walked over to her, appearing unfazed by her attitude. He crouched in front of her and she blushed at his sudden closeness when he suddenly brought his hand up to her forehead.

"What are you doing?" Daiyu asked, noticing that his hand felt like it was burning into skin and she wondered if he was always this warm to her.

"I noticed when I was holding you down that you were unnaturally cold." He remarked.

"I noticed that too!" Inuyasha commented. "Even her blood was cool."

She was startled by their words, but then looked down at her Dao sword, her dark brows furrowing in thought.

"It's because of the sword." She murmured. "Some call it the "sword which summons winter" or the "arctic sword"."

Sesshoumaru was not shocked by her words, since he had once seen lord Shoushan use it. A sword that had the ability to create a sub-zero atmosphere, freezing anything it touches and turning even the hottest of days into a blizzard storm, covering the land around it in snow and ice.

He found the sword itself to be a double-edged blade, for not only does it freeze your opponent but also the sword wielder itself, if they were not cautious enough. From the feel of her skin, currently, it seemed that the sword had already begun to turn on its master and a deep frown appeared on his face. He quickly took off his armor and withdrew his red and white haori and placed it around her shoulders, followed by the mokomoko. She was startled at first, but quickly smiled at him, grateful, before marveling at how warm the mokomoko felt.

"Wow, this thing feels alive! It's so warm!" Daiyu exclaimed merrily as they both came to stand up. Sesshoumaru gave her a thoughtful look, his white brow rising.

"That's because it is."

"…what?" Daiyu gasped, her silver eyes growing wide.

"It is an extension of myself. Have you not figured that out?" Sesshoumaru asked, "I would have thought you knew this by now."

"No fucking way!" She loudly burst out as she tugged at the fur. "So, can you feel this?"

"Hn."

"So cool!"

"Oi, let's get going. I'm getting hungry." Inuyasha cut into Daiyu's elated squeals as she fiddled with the mokomoko while Sesshoumaru appeared to be silently tolerant of the poking, petting and other such things she was doing. At Inuyasha's words, she raised her head with eyes sparkling.

"Me too! I'm starved!"

"You're always hungry." Inuyasha remarked dryly.

"Shut up!" She snapped back, "You eat way more than I do!"

"Says who?" Inuyasha argued. Sesshoumaru, bemused by their meaningless argument, grabbed onto Daiyu's waist, cutting her off before she was about to make a come back towards Inuyasha and she yipped from being startled.

"Enough, let's depart." Sesshoumaru said firmly, picking up his armor with his other hand and he looked to his brother. "You may hold onto the pelt."

"Are you serious?" Inuyasha asked, his tone dry.

"Then walk back." Sesshoumaru replied coldly before turning him and Daiyu away from Inuyasha.

"Stop your bitching and get on." Daiyu muttered at Inuyasha.

"Aargh, fine!" Inuyasha yelled as the two began to hover in the air and the mokomoko stretched outward for Inuyasha to grasp onto before they all flew up into the early morning skies.


End file.
